5 Shocking Stories You’ll Wish Were April Fools
It may be April Fools’ Day, but these incidents of animal abuse are no joke.
Piles and Piles of Pigs
Eyewitness video captured at Yelmah Piggery near Hamley Bridge, South Australia, shows workers punching and kicking pigs. Living pigs and piglets can be seen piled with the dead and left to rot while wild cats pick at the carcasses.
Sadly, this kind of abuse is not isolated. Piggeries across Australia have also been exposed for their unimaginable cruelty. The best way to help is by choosing not to support the industry and leaving these cruel animal products off your plate.
Baby Elephants Tortured for Tourism
Every year, tourists flock to Thailand, where elephant rides are on offer. To feed this lucrative business, baby elephants are often illegally torn away from their mothers in the wild.
These elephants are then systematically “broken”. Immobilised and beaten mercilessly, they endure “training” sessions that result in trauma and injury. Elephants spend the rest of their lives lugging tourists around on their backs while being routinely beaten with bullhooks and often denied adequate food and water.
Please, make sure that you don’t support this cruel trade on your next overseas holiday – and urge friends and family to do the same.
Horse Dies at Funeral
As a grieving Welsh family attempted to lay their loved one to rest, a car collided with the horse and carriage that formed part of the funeral procession. “The car ploughed into the side and the windows of the hearse just seemed to explode, the horse was badly injured and the coach master was hurt too”, said one witness. The horse had to be euthanised at the scene.
In addition to being devastating for everyone involved, this tragic accident also highlights the dangers to horses when they’re forced to share roads with cars and other vehicles.
Despite this danger, horses pulling carriages still work on some of Melbourne’s busiest streets. Please take a moment to speak up for them here.
Live Possum Attack Shared on Snapchat
Two Brisbane teens were charged with cruelty to animals for allegedly driving over a possum. The graphic footage, which was shared on Snapchat, shows a car driving back and forth as the possum is trapped beneath the wheel.
One of the teens can be seen cheering on the driver and laughing as the severely injured possum tries in vain to escape by crawling away, even though the bottom half of the animal’s body has been severed.
Please always report any cruel videos you may see on social media to the RSPCA.
Dog Breeders Fined $40,000 for Docking Dobermans
Two Victorian dog breeders who docked the tails and cropped the ears of five dogs were fined more than $40,000 for cruelty to animals. Both tail-docking and ear-cropping have been illegal in Victoria since 2007.
Two of the dogs who were seized had serious injuries to their vertebrae. “The tail docking procedure carried out on both dogs can be thought of as equivalent to cutting off a human finger non-surgically”, said the RSPCA vet who treated them.
Be sure to adopt dogs and cats from reputable shelters, and don’t support breeders or pet shops, where dogs may have come from cruel “puppy farms”. If you witness cruelty towards any animal, please report it immediately.
Animal abuse is no laughing matter. Luckily, most people abhor such vile acts. If you’d like to help us continue to work in behalf of animals everywhere, please consider making a donation or signing up for our e-mail updates.
Let’s make 2025 a historic year for animals
