Children aged between 11 and 16-years-old have been found responsible for the sickening killing of a tiny, defenceless kitten – as police reveal one of them owned three other kittens.
The shocking video was posted on Facebook by New Zealand animal rights group Paw Justice on Tuesday, and has been viewed almost 220,000 times.
It was filmed in Invercargill on the South Island, and shows a young girl hitting the kitten several times with a piece of concrete while two other people laugh and encourage her.
‘Put it on the concrete or else it won’t f**king die,’ a girl off camera is heard saying.
Sickening footage has emerged showing a young woman throwing a concrete block at a defenceless, tiny kitten and leaving it for dead
‘Put it on the concrete or else it won’t f**king die,’ a girl off camera is heard saying
Constable Chris Wakelin of New Zealand Police said they made enquiries after seeing the video.
‘We have identified those responsible, who are all aged between 11 and 16-years-old,’ he said.
‘The offenders will all be interviewed and referred to the Invercargill Youth Services team for appropriate action.’
Together with the SPCA, police removed three kittens from the home of one of the girls.
The kittens will be checked over before being rehomed.
‘We recognise that the content of the video has been extremely upsetting for people across New Zealand. Our staff have also been sickened by the video,’ he said.
In the video, a girl throws the kitten onto a patch of grass before another person throws a block of concrete at it.
Another block is thrown at the animal but it misses, as the terrified and clearly injured kitten tries to escape.
It scurries into a bush where it apparently died.
In posting the video to Facebook, Paw Justice said the footage ‘sickens and saddens us at the same time’.
‘We can’t even begin [to] understand why this little soul was stoned to death. What the hell is happening with our youth if they can do this and laugh,’ the post reads.
‘We need to let people know this conduct is not right, and in fact it’s so wrong it’s beyond sick.’
Another block is thrown at the animal but it misses, as the terrified and clearly injured kitten tries to escape
The group asked people to come forward with information on the people involved in the video.
Outraged viewers shared their opinions on the actions captured in the footage.
‘This makes me so damn angry I am struggling for words… if this was my child I would be devastated,’ one person wrote.
Outraged viewers shared their opinions on the actions captured in the footage
The shocking impact of the video was evidenced in the comments left by viewers
Another posted: ‘I just can’t deal with the disgusting act of violence against a poor, defenceless kitten’.
‘I’m crying, this is just horrendous.’
People said they had written to New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern about the incident.