The Citizen was sent footage on Tuesday of an apparent “joke” video clip showing a man washing a puppy in a bucket and then hanging it by its ears on a washing line.
The text accompanying it claims this kind of cruelty is ostensibly from smoking marijuana, which many a peaceful dagga smoker would probably take issue with.
The puppy is in evident pain and distress at the end and makes yelping noises.
The Citizen attempted to establish the source of the clip and could only find a version of it on Twitter from as early as January this year, where it mostly went unregarded. It’s not clear if this happened in South Africa, though the presence of the Handy Andy washing liquid and its particular branding style, as well as the music track itself, would strongly suggest that it did.
Contacted for comment, the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals’ (SPCA) Meg Wilson said they had not encountered the footage or complaints about it before. She expressed her horror at the footage and pointed out that violence towards animals is often linked to violence towards people and deeper problems in communities.
Wilson asked for further information on the perpetrator, so that the event could be investigated. His face is clearly visible in the clip below.
Please note that the last few seconds of the video are likely to be upsetting for many:
Those with information can email Wilson at comms@nspca.co.za or call head office on 011 907 3590/1/2/3.
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