YouTube is being urged to take action against a "cruel" new video craze which involves innocent animals being set upon by predators, only for the videoer to 'rescue' them in the final moments.
The videos, which are being posted to the video-sharing giant, show predators including snakes and crocodiles attacking prey such as monkeys, chicken and dogs.
The panicked prey are seen fearing for their lives before they are eventually rescued by the videoer.
A new report 'Views That Abuse' by World Animal Protection revealed there are more than 180 videos showing the fake rescues, all of which were published between October 2018 and May 2021. Of them, 70 were uploaded in 2021.
Many have been viewed millions of times.
World Animal Protection has now written to YouTube asking the company to act on the issue immediately by removing the content - and creating a plan to ensure inhumane content won't be shared on the platform in the first place.
"This shocking cruelty has serious welfare implications for all animals involved," head of campaigns Ben Pearson said in a statement.
"There is no doubt that the animals in these videos will have suffered from injuries and severe psychological trauma, just for cheap thrills for viewers at home.
"Typical filming takes time, meaning long periods of suffering. It’s unknown how many more animals died or were injured behind the scenes, and even those filming are putting themselves at risk.
"Each day that these clips stay online, the more popular this phenomenon becomes. If urgent action isn’t taken, we could see a whole surge of copycat content emerge - putting more animals and people at risk."
YouTube has been contacted for comment.
