Animals deliberately put in danger for social media "rescue" videos, welfare groups say

Animal welfare organizations are urging social media users not to like, share, or donate to videos of animals being rescued. Many of these videos are posed, with helpless animals deliberately placed in danger for likes and donations. “It is a bizarre trend: videos of kittens, puppies, or monkeys that are rescued from life-threatening situations but were deliberately put there,” said the Social Media Animal Cruelty Coalition (SMACC), which includes World Animal Protection Netherlands.

The SMACC investigated these rescue videos which frequently circulate on social media and found a massive 1,022 fake ones in a period of six weeks. The videos were all extremely popular, getting a total of over 572 million views.

“The content of the videos is shocking. We saw cats being buried alive and monkeys being pitted against an aggressive snake. Some videos included a call for donations, supposedly to save more animals. But these makers deliberately endanger defenseless animals just to go viral. It was heartbreaking to watch,” Sanne Kuijpers of World Animal Protection Netherlands said.

According to the animal welfare organizations, the video makers inflict enormous stress and trauma on these animals. “According to veterinarians, some animals are even deliberately drugged for dramatic effect. Many sustain injuries during the dangerous situations, and it is unclear how they fare after the so-called rescue. We are very concerned about their care and welfare,” Kuijpers said.

Social media companies often have policies against videos in which animals are harmed, but these uploaders seem to circumvent them. SMACC, therefore, urged social media companies to tighten their policy and remove these videos.

Social media users can also help, Kuijpers added. “Be alert to the poster of the rescue, to improbable scenarios, and multiple videos with similar content. Do you see a harmful video? Do not encourage it by liking or sharing.”