A Brazilian teenager has faced severe backlash after putting her guinea pig in a microwave and uploading the footage on social media.
Vitoria Muller claimed she “cooked” the animal after being dared by her friends.
The 16-year-old quickly became the subject of an online campaign demanding she be reprimanded using the hashtag #PunicaoParaVitoria – “Punishment for Vitoria”.
Authorities said as soon as they were made aware of the animal abuse they seized the animal and transferred it to a vet.
Fortunately, the animal was unharmed and was returned to the owners.
Her father took to social media to say he had punished his daughter.
“My daughter was already punished for her bad behaviour.
“The animal is fine and in the name of all my family we apologise.
“We all take care of animals in this house and we would never let something like this happen.
“We apologise again for all that happened.”
This is just one of several recent examples of animal abuse distributed on social media.
Earlier this year, a 21-year-old was filmed repeatedly kicking a quokka on Rottnest Island.
His friend, who filmed the incident while laughing, was fined $3500 for the incident.
Magistrate Peter Malone refused the defendant’s request for a spent conviction, despite his lack of prior convictions, believing he should not be relieved of the consequences.
“The reality is we all know this cruel footage went viral,” he said.
“You were part and parcel of the activity. There was an understandable community reaction and disgust.”
If you have witnessed animal cruelty on social media, you should report it to the RSPCA
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