Two recent incidents of influencers harming animals, one in which Twitch streamer Alinity Divine threw her cat and another in which YouTuber Brooke Houts hit and screamed at her dog, have outraged viewers.
Animal welfare organization People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) wants Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, Twitch, and TikTok to impose an immediate and permanent ban on any user who post photos or videos of themselves harming animals.
Cleared after investigation
Natalia Mongollon, better known as Alinity Divine, was seen throwing her cat behind her while playing a video game. In another video she made her cat taste vodka and another she put stickers on her cat. After viewers reported her, Animal Protection Services went to her house and concluded the animals were okay.
Hey everyone, I understand the concern and I am sorry for my lapses in judgement. I shouldnt have gotten frustrated with Milo, but I dropped him on the floor behind my chair. I’m not that strong 😛 . The Vodka thing was well over a year ago but it was also a stupid thing to do.
— Alinity (@AlinityTwitch) July 19, 2019
Hitting and spitting on puppy
After she was ‘cleared’ another video showing animal abuse appeared online. In this video you see Brooke Houts hitting, spitting, shoving and shouting at her puppy. She uploaded it by accident a few days a ago. She denies being an animal abuser and says she was having a bad day. The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) is looking into the incident.
This @brookehouts (who accidentally posted an unedited video beating & SPITTING on her dog) disturbed me. It is a glimpse of what lies beneath the fake smiles of “#Influencers” & #Youtuber “idols”.
— Gerry Stergiopoulos (@GerryGreek) August 9, 2019
I hope they take it away from her. She does NOT deserve this inteligent animal! pic.twitter.com/zQrawJlWmk
Don’t normalize animal abuse
In a letter sent to the social media companies PETA points out that such videos normalize animal abuse, particularly for younger, more impressionable viewers, and increase the risk of copycat behavior. “One day of outrage before the public moves on to the next scandal isn’t enough to stop streamers from hurting animals”, says PETA Vice President Joel Bartlett. “We’re calling for a zero-tolerance policy for animal abusers across all social media platforms.”
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