‘Does it hurt?’: Reward offered to catch ‘hunter’ filmed taunting an injured baboon and telling it to ‘stop complaining’ as it gasps for air and bleeds in South Africa
- Man filmed laughing as he propped wounded animal up by arm in South Africa
- At one point he says ‘does it hurt?’ and tells the baboon to ‘stop complaining’
- Animal welfare group has offered a £550 reward for information leading to arrest
A reward has been offered to catch a suspected hunter filmed taunting an injured baboon and telling it to ‘stop complaining’ as it gasped for air.
Footage captured in South Africa shows an unidentified man grinning and laughing as he held the badly bleeding animal up by the arm.
At one point he asked ‘does it hurt?’ with the male baboon suffering from what appears to be a head injury.
The clip has sparked outrage with South Africa’s biggest animal welfare group offering a R10,000 (£550) reward for information leading to the arrest of the ‘animal abuser’.
A reward has been offered to catch a suspected hunter filmed taunting an injured baboon and telling it to ‘stop complaining’ as it gasped for air
It is not yet clear how the animal came to be injured, where exactly the footage was captured or what happened to the baboon after the clip ended.
But the National Council of Societies for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (NSPCA) today accused the man of ‘tormenting the poor victim and prolonging his suffering’.
In an earlier social media post, it had said: ‘It would appear that the injuries sustained were as a result of a hunt/killing attempt. In the video the baboon is still alive and is gasping for air and bleeding.
Footage captured in South Africa shows an unidentified man grinning and laughing as he held the badly bleeding animal up by the arm
‘The man is holding the baboon upright by the arm and saying to the baboon that he should “stop complaining” and ask the baboon “does it hurt?”.’
The video prompted anger online, with one Twitter user saying: ‘He has to be found and pay for what he did.’
Another wrote: ‘I can’t stand watching this horrific scene.’
The NSPCA said in a statement today: ‘We are now offering a R10,000 reward for information that leads to the successful arrest of this individual.
‘The NSPCA fully intends to charge him with animal cruelty under the Animals Protection Act as this behaviour is beyond cruel. We ask all our supporters to share this post far and wide.
‘We would like to sincerely thank everyone who donated to help us raise this reward – your assistance helps us get justice for abused animals.’