Animal exploitation videos on social media platforms have become a concerning issue. A report by the Asia for Animals Social Media Animal Cruelty Coalition (SMACC) revealed the shocking scope of such videos posted on platforms like YouTube, TikTok, and Facebook. Between July 2020 and August 2021, they identified 5,480 individual links to videos of animal cruelty, with a combined view count exceeding 5.3 billion. These videos depict thousands of animals being tortured, maimed, and subjected to prolonged suffering. Some examples include baby monkeys being buried alive or tormented, kittens being stepped on or set alight, animals being eaten alive, and puppies being killed by snakes.
The most commonly featured animal groups in these videos were birds, followed by dogs, cats, wildlife (such as boars, bats, deer, and civets), reptiles, and primates. Shockingly, some videos even featured threatened species like pangolins and gibbons. More than three hundred of these videos had garnered millions or tens of millions of views, with a small handful reaching over one hundred million views and the most-watched video being seen over one billion times.
Unfortunately, some producers of this animal cruelty-based content have gained almost “celebrity-like” status, boasting millions of followers. In certain cases, these videos can be highly profitable. For instance, a previous SMACC report found that YouTube earned up to $12 million from sharing animal cruelty content over a three-month period in 2020, while the creators themselves earned nearly $15 million.
The prevalence of these videos underscores the need for social media platforms to take action. While some platforms have policies against animal abuse content, enforcement remains a challenge. Administrators must continue to improve content moderation, swiftly remove abusive videos, and educate users about responsible content creation. Additionally, users can play a role by reporting such content when they encounter it. Ultimately, raising awareness and promoting empathy toward animals are crucial steps in combating this disturbing trend.
Sources for the above include: Newsweek, Euro News, PETA and more including personal experiences. I have notified YouTube on more than one occasion of fake animal rescue videos from India. They are exceeding cruel but they are successful videos. If and when they are removed by YouTube the user simply restarts and so the slow process of removal re-commences and in the meantime the video is being seen by more millions.
Animal abuse is successful!
The truth is that animal cruelty fascinates a lot of people. Some of the most successful videos on the internet are of animal cruelty which is shocking. Humankind has a long way to go before it is civilised.
Example – dogs thrown lemon slices
Dogs will eat anything and catch food thrown at them in their mouths. This vulnerability has been exploited by TikTok users under the #DogVSLemon hashtag where the videos have been seen over 20 million times.
Remember though that TikTok video viewing stats are fudged because they videos play in a loop.
An example (one of many) is of an Alsatian thrown a lemon slice which her grabs in his mouth and then drops. The image at the top of the page depicts the aftermath of the moment. You can see the video by clicking on this link. Note: these external links often end up broken.
This is bad companion animal caregiving. It is an example of negative reinforcement or punishment. The dog expects food but then experiences a very bitter taste. A reward becomes a punishment. Perhaps a dog becomes confused. Perhaps the dog, on rare occasions, might become aggressive. Sometimes this exploitation of dogs might undermine the relationship between caregiver and animal. It might erode slightly the trust the animal has in their owner, the alpha dog. It is, therefore, unwise to seek TikTok success with this kind of animal exploitation.
TikTok like other platforms struggle, as mentioned, with preventing the uploading of the sorts of exploitative videos. They just don’t have the necessary number of moderators to do the job. They are reliant upon users to report abuse. This is not going to be successful which is why we see these kind of trending videos on these platforms.
Another shocking aspect of this development in human behaviour is that TikTok users copy other TikTok users. Where they see success no matter how it has been achieved, they often copy it and so you have a proliferation of animal exploitation videos until finally TikTok administrators catch on and clamp down but by then the damage has been done as millions of people have seen the videos.
If a viewer is a vulnerable person easily led and influenced, they may be drawn into animal abuse of some other sort. This is encouraging poor human behaviour. It is just another example of the detrimental aspects of social media notwithstanding that there are some enormous benefits to be gained from these platforms. It’s a question of how they are used which must be wisely and sensibly.
One last point, if a celebrity for whatever reason abuses an animal on social media it can spell the end of their career. Just as animal abuse video trends spread like wildfire, so can criticisms of celebrities and other individuals spread like wildfire which can be impossible to put out and therefore the person’s reputation is damaged. Sometimes this can lead to the person requesting the social media platform to remove the video or request that Google stop finding the video in their search results. It can get that desperate.
