United Kingdom: Police say Kyle Keegan, 23, posted video to Snapchat showing him beating a puppy with a hammer and then cooking it to death in a microwave

UNITED KINGDOM -- A fight has broken out in a courtroom during the appearance of a man charged in connection with an alleged hammer attack on an 11-week-old puppy.

The 23-year-old man's mother clashed with animal rights activists inside the court after angry remarks were shouted at her son.

 

Kyle Keegan, of Gilpins Manor, Lurgan, Co Armagh, appeared before Craigavon Magistrates' Court on Wednesday charged with animal cruelty.

Standing in the dock, Keegan simply nodded to confirm his name and the charge against him.

They're accusing Keegan of beating the 11-week-old puppy to death with a hammer and then cooking it inside a microwave. Someone videotaped the torture death and then uploaded it onto Snapchat, which has become the app of choice for animal torturers and abusers to brag about their heinous crimes.

It is believed footage of the alleged attack was shared on social media platforms including Snapchat on Saturday.

The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) has appealed for any information.

Detectives have called for anyone who has seen the footage or has photographs of the incident to come forward.     

As he was remanded in custody, a number of animal rights activists shouted angrily at him.

His mother approached one of the activists, and insisted: "He was brought up decent. He was brought up well," before leaving the courtroom.

Keegan was arrested on Tuesday after police were made aware that a puppy had been killed in an alleged hammer attack on Saturday at an apartment in Ailsbury Park, Lurgan.

No bail application was made, and Keegan was remanded in custody for four weeks.

The case was adjourned to March 2 when Keegan will appear before the court via videolink.

(Express UK - February 7, 2018)

Australia: Claire West, 17, pleads guilty to animal cruelty charge after she recorded herself kicking puppy 26 times while it yelped in pain

AUSTRALIA -- A 17-year-old woman has pleaded guilty to animal cruelty after a dog was filmed being repeatedly kicked in Gracemere in central Queensland.

The video caused an outcry on social media when it surfaced on Friday, prompting a joint police-RSPCA investigation.

Claire Elizabeth West pleaded guilty to animal cruelty in the Rockhampton Magistrates Court this morning.

The court heard the teenager had received a number of upsetting Snapchats from her former boyfriend and his new partner.

Her lawyer told the court she had become angry and upset by the videos and took it out on the dog Buster that they had bought together.

West filmed herself kicking the puppy 26 times saying "dog's dead ... how do you like that [name of boyfriend]" and then sent it to him via Snapchat.

Her lawyer CLAIMED to the court "she had not meant to hurt the dog" and it had no visible injuries.

"She is extremely remorseful — she is completely humiliated and angry at herself for her actions," the lawyer told the court.

Lies, lies, lies.

The court heard the 17-year-old, who lives with her mother, received a disability support pension and had been diagnosed with ADD, ODD, behavioral disorders, Asperger's and hearing impairments.

So what? There are millions of people with the same disabilities and they don't abuse animals, children, elderly people...

West was placed on a two-year probation order and no conviction was recorded.

The court was told the puppy was currently in the Rockhampton pound, but was due to be released to the teenager's mother today.

Magistrate Jeff Clarke warned if they took the dog back to the house where the teen lived, she would be contravening the prohibition order.

Why would they give the dog back to the abuser???

West put her head in her hands when she was told she would not be able to keep the dog.

Mr Clarke described it as "quite a despicable act" and also imposed an order that prohibited West from owning a dog for two years.

"Unfortunately I cannot make an order that you not access or maintain social media accounts — I would make that order if that order could be made," Mr Clarke said.

As part of the probation order, West must also undergo counselling and anger management courses.

RSPCA spokesman Michael Beatty said the incident was disturbing.

"[For] somebody [to record] themselves actually abusing an animal — in this case kicking the animal repeatedly and the animal yelping — I mean, that's just no way to carry on," he said.

"It's just very disturbing."

Mr Beatty said the RSPCA was getting a growing number of complaints about animal abuse posted on social media.

"It just sadly appears to be escalating, but I suppose you'd have to say that the only good thing about it is that if someone has posted on social media, normally they can be charged," he said.

VIDEO CLAIRE WEST RECORDED OF HERSELF ABUSING PUPPY:

VIDEO, WHICH HAS BEEN RELEASED TO THE MEDIA WORLDWIDE, WAS REMOVED BY YOUTUBE WHICH ISSUED A STRIKE BECAUSE THEY DON'T WANT YOU TO SEE WHAT HORRIBLE THINGS PEOPLE REALLY 
DO TO ANIMALS

(ABC News AU - January 15, 2018)

(November 2017) Canada: Family horrified after pet cat allegedly drugged, abused on Snapchat; Josh Lemire charged with Animal Cruelty

CANADA -- Mounties are investigating a possible case of animal cruelty in the Cowichan Valley after a family's cat was allegedly forced to take illicit drugs and abused in videos shared on Snapchat.

Sharline Haglund says her daughter was sent disturbing Snapchat videos of the family's one-year-old cat Gigi by a former friend in the middle of the night Tuesday.

"[Gigi] got outside and because the people know my daughter, and probably the cat knows them, she would've went there with them or somehow ended up at their house," an emotional Haglund told CTV News Tuesday.

"It sounds like they gave her MDMA and then tried to shave her. From the post you can see that he has a razor that he's looking like he's going to shave her hair, and said he wanted to give her a mohawk or something."

A Facebook post created by a friend of Haglund's daughter's Tuesday accuses several people of taking part in the alleged acts of cruelty.

It also includes a screenshot of one of the alleged Snapchat messages, appearing to show a cat being shaved with a razor.

"Your cat loves molly," part of the caption reads, referring to the party drug also known as MDMA or ecstasy.

The Facebook post, which had been shared more than 700 times as of 5 p.m. Tuesday, also alleges the cat was thrown out of a window after it was fed drugs and shaved.

Haglund said her daughter notified her of the videos early Tuesday morning and they immediately contacted RCMP, which has launched an investigation.

Since going to investigators, Haglund said she's also heard the cat was given a "bleach bath" in the incident but is unsure what's true and what's not.

Gigi was missing for the majority of the day Tuesday, but was finally located around 7:30 p.m.

Haglund said everything the people in the video said they would do was done to the cat: she was shaved, the number 666 was written in her ear, and there appear to be bleach marks on her back.

 

 

She took the cat to the veterinarian Wednesday morning and said the family hoped to know more later in the day.

The BC SPCA says it is aware of the allegations and is assisting the RCMP investigation however it can. An RCMP update was expected Wednesday.

Animal protection officer Tina Heary says the organization is extremely concerned about the missing cat and the effect any illicit drugs could have on it.
"If it's been forcibly given some type of drugs and it's experiencing the effects of that, and it’s a cold rainy day – my understanding is it was also abandoned in an area away from its home – it's put into a very unfortunate and dangerous environment," said Heary.

Haglund said she has no idea why the former friends of her daughter would take part in the alleged acts, but that she considers it a form of cyberbullying.

No charges have been announced in the investigation. Mounties are appealing to anyone else who has information on what happened to contact them at 250-748-5522 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.

Update: Josh Lemire, 20, has been charged with Animal Cruelty. Others deemed to be minors under the age of 18 are also involved. 

Future serial killers? Jeffrey Dahmer, the Night Stalker, the Boston Strangler and others have confessed to torturing and killing animals for fun before even that became mundane and they moved up to human beings.

VIDEO NEWS CLIP #1:

VIDEO NEWS CLIP #2:

VIDEO NEWS CLIP #3:

(CTV News - November 22, 2017)

South Carolina: Bethany Polutta, 18, Austin Kizer, 19, and two juveniles arrested after posting photos and videos of themselves laughing, torturing and beating an opossum to death

SOUTH CAROLINA -- Two adults and two teenagers are facing misdemeanor charges after a “disturbing” video was posted on Snapchat that showed an opossum being hung by its tail dangling over a dog and beaten with a baseball bat.

However, animal activists groups are pushing for further charges in an online petition, saying that the misdemeanor charges “in no way cover(s) the actions of these defendants.”

Bethany Polutta, 18, of Summerville, South Carolina and Austin Kizer, 19, of St. George, South Carolina, along with two people under age 18, have been charged with ill treatment of an animal, according to David Lucas, of the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources.

Lucas said the two adults will appear in magistrate’s court, while the juveniles’ cases will be handled in family court.

 

Authorities began investigating the incident in September when a video was posted on Snapchat that appeared to show several teenagers beating an opossum with a baseball bat in a garage.

People who saw the Snapchat video took screenshots of the incident and turned them over to the Department of Natural Resources, Lucas said.

“I think anyone who saw (the screenshots) would think it’s disturbing,” Lucas said.

The video sparked anger and uproar on social media. Renate Hartland, a wildlife volunteer in Seattle, launched an online petition to Dorchester County Solicitor David Pascoe demanding harsh punishment for the abusers in the video.

Hartland, along with other animal activists, named the opossum “Hope” and started the Facebook page “In Light of Hope” for the animal’s supporters. The Change.org petition has more than 33,000 signatures and the Facebook page has more than 1,400 followers.

The petition requests more serious punishment than the misdemeanor abuse charge, which carries a maximum punishment of 90 days in jail or a fine of up to $1,000 on the first offense.

Instead, petitioners are asking for the offenders to face felony charges for torture, torment, or cruel killing, with a minimum punishment of 180 days in jail.

“The animal suffered repeated, persistent, merciless pain,” the petition reads. “The pain and suffering inflicted upon the opossum goes far beyond anything tolerable in a decent society. This is not ‘generic’ animal suffering, this is specific torture and torment.”

Lucas said Monday that further charges from his department are not expected.

“The case on our end is closed, but the solicitor might further investigate the incident,” he said.

This is the second time in six months the state’s Department of Natural Resources has investigated teenagers abusing an animal on Snapchat.

In May, two Ridgeland, South Carolina men were charged with animal abuse after investigation into photos of a group of men pouring beer down an alligator’s throat.

In response to the opossum incident, PETA has sent letters to schools in the area urging them to implement humane education.

“We’re facing a bullying epidemic, and these boys allegedly beat an opossum to death with a baseball bat and bragged about it on social media,” said PETA spokesperson Marta Holmberg in an online press release. “TeachKind is urging schools to implement humane education and adopt an official policy against cruelty to animals that will help prevent a shocking crime like this one from occurring again.”

(Miami Herald - Oct 9, 2017)

Earlier:

• South Carolina: Future serial killers - Laughing teens tortured and beat opossum to death with a baseball bat then posted photos and videos on Snapchat.

Related:

Pennsylvania: High school football players charged with animal cruelty, accused of beating, torturing and killing animals for fun

Nebraska: Despite admitting to being present when 3 teen boys killed a cat they'd tortured, judge rules Kirk Van Pelt not guilty of animal cruelty

Australia: Opossum torturer Hunter Jonasen, 18, punched a stranger so hard that 'part of the victim's lip was missing' while on probation for torturing a possum and posting the video to Snapchat

North Carolina: Teens Jared Rose and Kalob Hubbard torture and burn opossum alive and are so proud of themselves they post on Instagram

 

North Carolina: Two future serial killers beat opossum and then set it and its babies on fire, killing it

The sister says of the opossum, "You shot its tongue off. The poor thing.... oh my God. This is way more bloodier than the skunk."

New York: Several teens filmed themselves gleefully torturing a turtle to death. Maximum punishment? $250 fine and "up to 15 days in jail". But we all know that jail time will NEVER happen.

Hawaii: Christian Gutierrez given 45-days in jail for torturing albatross birds to death by breaking their bones, chopping off their feet, kicking them, stomping them, and beating them to death with a baseball bat.

South Carolina: Future serial killers - Laughing teens tortured and beat opossum to death with a baseball bat then posted photos and videos on Snapchat.

SOUTH CAROLINA -- The S.C. Department of Natural Resources is investigating after photos posted on social media showed a group of teens torturing and beating an opossum in the air with a baseball bat, beating it with a stick and holding the animal by its tail, trying to get a dog to attack it.

David Lucas, a DNR spokesman, said the agency received a complaint about the incident over the weekend. A tip sent to DNR included screenshots from a Snapchat video that investigators believe was recorded in the Summerville area.

 

Investigators have identified the people in the video and are talking with the teens and their parents, Lucas said. It was not known Tuesday whether charges will be filed.

Cierra Black watched the Snapchat video filmed by a mutual friend and shared the images to Facebook and with DNR.

Black said the video began with people poking at the opossum on a table in a garage. 

 

 

A girl can be heard laughing saying, "You broke its leg haha!"

A teen grabbed the animal by its tail and held it over a dog. Black said one person threw the opossum in the air and another hit it with a baseball bat. 

The animal landed on the ground where the individuals continued to beat it with a bat, she said. 

"Disturbing is the word that comes to mind," Lucas said of the images.

I don't know what's more disturbing: the fact that they were OK with torturing and killing a small defenseless animal or the fact that they were so proud of their handiwork that they quickly uploaded photos and videos to Snapchat in an effort to be 'internet famous' with other like-minded sadists.

The incident comes at a time when another South Carolina wildlife cruelty case is fresh on people's minds.

In May, two Jasper County men were charged with misdemeanor harassment of wildlife for allegedly pouring beer into an alligator's mouth. DNR was also alerted to that case thanks to photos posted on social media.

Anonymous tips may be submitted to DNR's Operation Game Thief line at 1-800-922-5431 or by downloading the SCDNR Tips app from iTunes or Google Play.

 

  

  

 

Update: 
Four of these disgusting human beings have been arrested and charged.

Bethany Polutta, 18, of Summerville, South Carolina and Austin Kizer, 19, of St. George, South Carolina, along with two people under age 18, have been charged with ill treatment of an animal, according to David Lucas, of the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources. 

(Post and Courier - Sept 19, 2017)