There’s been a 340% rise in reports of animal cruelty on Snapchat, according to a report by the RSPCA.
119 cases have been reported so far in 2017, compared to 69 for the whole of last year. The video-sharing app has seen videos such as a guinea pig being thrown down the stairs and a fox cub’s throat being slit – and some videos even included people laughing.
A breakdown of the local statistics don’t contain the West Midlands information, but the RSPCA Press Office said:
“That could be for two reasons, either there is no data from the West Midlands, or the area for that report is unknown.”
The wider issue
Trends show an increase in animal cruelty, and the national statistics show a 3.8% increase for incidents reported to the RSPCA in Birmingham year-on-year.
The animal welfare charity also found that most of these cases involved children.
Dave Allen, Head of Education & Advice for the RSPCA said:
“We’re not out to prosecute these children but we’ll act when we’re aware of violence against an animal or any form of cruelty.
“We’d prefer to educate children to ensure they understand that being cruel or causing unnecessary suffering to an animal is not funny and is wrong.”
