Viral 'puppy crush' video an old one – PAWS

The Philippine Animal Welfare Society said the crush video where three girls are shown  playfully stomping on a puppy to death and is now making the rounds in several social media sites is actually old footage.

In an interview on "Saksi" on Friday night PAWS Exec. Director Anna Cabrera confirmed the video was indeed taken in the Philippines and was part of a collection they seized in 2011.

“What we did was consulted with our colleagues sa PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals). Last night they were able to verify it was part of an old video,” Cabrera said.

In 2011, authorities were able to bust a couple in Bacnotan, La Union, who were selling various crush videos to foreign patrons.

The video spanning some 19 minutes showed three teenage-looking girls stomping on a puppy until it died.

Some parts of the video show the helpless puppy wailing as if asking for help. What the girls were doing, according to Cabrera,  “is animal cruelty.”

Meanwhile, Atty. Heidi Caguioa, representing the Animal Kingdom Foundation, said crush videos are a certain fetish that can give sexual satisfaction to some people.

“Fetish 'yan, it’s some sort of condition that makes them feel excited sexually if they would see animals being crushed or in pain,” Caguioa said.

According to the report, the three girls are currently in the care of the Department of Social Welfare Development.

Under the Animal Welfare Act, those proven guilty of animal abuse may be jailed for 6 months to two years and may be fined from as P1,000 to P5,000.

But animal welfare groups are hoping that President Benigno Aquino will approve the amendment to the law, setting the minimum jail time to a year and raise the fine to P100,000 up to P250,000. — Andrei Medina /LBG, GMA News