A 15-year-old has been arrested in Portsmouth, Hampshire (UK) after a viral video of him striking a cat in the face was reported to the RSPCA who in turn contacted police.
Cat expects petting. Gets a slap instead.
The video was first shared on Snapchat with the caption of ‘Geezer’. It shows a cat as it sits on a wall. The cat is leaning toward the boy’s outstretched hand as it waits for some affection. Instead, the piece of human garbage hits the cat in the face.
Name and shame fucking little prick #Portsmouth pic.twitter.com/T09WeaAZHI
— Jai bailey (@jai_bailey) May 25, 2019
In the video, the cat can be seen falling from the wall and the teen laughing. Note: On smartphones if you turn the phone to horizontal the size increases.
The power of social media is awesome. Within hours of the video being shared all over social media, the identity of the abuser is known, along with his social media accounts. Even his place of employment was found out.
According to Buzz.ie a spokesperson for Hampshire Police stated
“We can confirm we are investigating an incident in Portsmouth in which a cat was hit in the face. We have received a report of the incident, and we are also aware of a related video that has been circulated widely on social media. An investigation is underway to establish the exact circumstances of what happened. We have also been in touch with the RSPCA.”
Hampshire Police
The 15-year-old was arrested on suspicion of an offense under the Animal Welfare Act 2006 and is currently in police custody.
Anyone with information with this incident should call police on 101 quoting the crime reference number 44190180705. The RSPCA is also involved in this cruelty case and would like for anyone with information to contact them at 0300 1234 999.
Not only are those who commit animal cruelty the lowest of the low, but they’re also idiots, as most of these acts end up on social media and the videos or photos become ‘evidence.’
I’m not sure how underage offenders are treated in the UK. Hopefully, he’ll receive enough punishment as to never even think of harming another animal. Comment from Michael: the situation in the UK is not dissimilar to that of the USA. Not much is done to stop this sort of casual animal abuse. In this instance the fact that it went viral on social media put pressure on the police to act. He’s been caught and was in custody awaiting a bail (bond) hearing the last time I checked. He’ll be convicted, I expect, and receive a fine of some sort. He might lose his job. That would be a form of justice.
Guess what creep? Did you want attention? You’ve got it!
I sure hope our brothers and sisters in the UK will be waiting for this monster when he gets out of jail to make sure he gets a taste of what he did to that poor defenseless cat! Because time behind bars is not a just dessert, getting what he gave is just dessert! Depending on you citizens!
Yes, we have the same feelings about these ignorant idiots as you do. We want them punished. The police are not great at this sort of stuff but social media has put pressure on them to act. I’d expect this young man to get a fine as a punishment.