Animal Abuse and Advocacy on the Internet
by Mat Thomas, In Defense of Animals

The online world has recently seen an explosion of revolutionary new websites allowing people to communicate and socialize in ways that were never before possible. Led by the proliferation of peer-to-peer file sharing networks like MySpace and YouTube, the online exchange of everything from music and photo images to videos is having an enormous impact on our society and culture by enabling people to create and disseminate their own media. Yet as promising as these emerging technological tools are for grassroots education and advocacy, some are using them to promote the violent abuse of animals as “entertainment.” 

The most disturbing example of this troubling trend is "crush films" – videos of horrific cruelty to animals made to appeal to sexual deviants who are aroused by the torture and killing of animals. These movies represent the extreme end of the pornographic spectrum, and typically feature women with names like Princess of Death and Debbie the Destructor slowly crushing kittens, puppies, monkeys, rodents, frogs and other small animals under stiletto heels, or with their buttocks or cleavage. 

Though it is difficult to understand why anyone would be sexually stimulated by watching helpless animals being tortured and killed, the experience of one undercover investigator from the Ventura County, California district attorney's office offers insight into the depraved minds of such individuals. By participating in crush film chat rooms, the investigator discovered that crush fetishists like to fantasize that they themselves are being trampled to death under the foot of a merciless dominatrix.

The popularity of crush videos continues to rise dramatically despite passage in 1999 of a federal law banning them. An estimated 2,000 titles in this sickening are already in circulation, and the global market for these movies is growing rapidly online. There are also an increasing number of websites featuring crush films alongside other videos depicting violence, gore and shocking cruelty. 

MySpace, which boasts over 40 million users worldwide, recently hosted a video of two 14-year-old Indiana girls kicking, shoving and dropping a cat whose body they had encased up to the neck in plastic wrap. The cat is visibly terrified as he helplessly takes their abuse, including laughter and taunts such as “How does it feel?” These comments are similar to those made by women in crush videos while they torture small animals. Fortunately, animal advocates brought the video to the attention of authorities, and the girls now face animal cruelty charges. If you see videos of animal abuse online, contact the site’s hosting company and the FBI.

While the Internet certainly has a dark side, many are using it to expose and discourage animal cruelty. IDA, for instance, has pages on both MySpace (www.myspace.com/idausa) and YouTube (www.youtube.com/profile?user=InDefenseofAnimals) where we have posted undercover videos showing animal abuse in factory farms, circuses, research labs and other places that exploit animals for profit. Anyone can make a page for free on these websites: they are great for educating people about animal issues and making new friends. Visit www.myspace.com and www.youtube.com to get started.