‘Unthinkable': Inside the sick underworld of cat torture rings

News.com.au

12 hours ago

WARNING: GRAPHIC
Sadistic cat torture rings are selling videos in Australia of helpless animals being mutilated for sexual gratification, news.com.au can reveal.
While most of the content is filmed in China – where there are no laws against animal cruelty – activists suspect the vile videos are now being locally produced.
Once relegated to the dark web, this extreme content caters to a sexual fetish for animal cruelty known as 'zoosadism'. This means consumers are paying for the pleasure of watching animals suffer.
The 'torture to order' videos have exploded in popularity on encrypted platforms like Telegram. And now, they're spilling onto mainstream sites like X, Facebook and YouTube, exposing children to the unthinkable.
Criminologists warn news.com.au that joining this sinister online underworld can inspire the abuse of humans ­­­– including mass murders allegedly committed by members.
This dark link has inflamed fears more Australians are entering the easily-accessed realm of cat torture content.
And activists claim it's driving a heinous spate of local cruelty.
Evil struck
They were discoveries so harrowing, a veteran animal rescuer couldn't believe her eyes.
Bee, who chose not to use her name after receiving death threats, has recently found multiple maimed cats near her Southwest Sydney rescue colony, PAWS Adoption by Bee.
In such extreme states of disfigurement, their species was unrecognisable. News.com.au has heavily censored the images.
It's believed at least one of the cats was owned.
'I was completely disgusted and shocked,' says Bee. 'The cuts were very clean, and the bodies were perfectly turned inside out.'
A veterinarian later confirmed the cats had been bludgeoned, skinned and gutted. Hooklike wounds also hinted they'd been hung ­­– a signature of the torture networks.
While the injuries align with those in content distributed by Telegram torturers around the same time, it's uncertain if they were inspired by or a product of the networks.
'Knowing there's someone out there doing this to innocent animals, I'm on edge every day.'
When Bee reported the cases to NSW Police, she was told there was insufficient evidence.
While killing animals is punishable by jail in NSW, NSW Police directed news.com.au to the RSPCA when contacted about these cases.
RSPCA confirmed the cases are under investigation.
'Although we're unable to share any details at this time, we'd be happy to share additional information once it becomes appropriate to do so,' a spokesperson said.
'A massive circle'
Animal welfare activists say the Sydney cases are unprecedented.
'We seldom see such extreme cruelty outside of China' Lara, a UK activist and volunteer for Feline Guardians, told news.com.au.
'The torture is incredibly elaborate and complex. It's also very similar to cases we've seen in those networks.'
'It's not easy to replicate. Nor the work of a novice,' said Lara, who chose not to give her full name for her own safety.
Despite the challenge in confirming the Australian production of content in the networks, RSPCA has reported a spike in animal cruelty.
This includes the case of UK zoologist Adam Britton, who was jailed in August 2024 for torturing and sexually abusing dogs in the Northern Territory. Britton shared videos of the depravity on Telegram.
'It's logical to presume extreme abuse happening globally can be inspired to a degree by torture videos,' says Lara.
Activists say Australians are buying many of the network's most violent videos, financially incentivising the torturers and growing the global market.
In China, there's been a 500 per cent surge in the production of this content in the past year, activists say. That's one new video every three hours.
In the videos, sadists will abuse, torture and kill cats using boiling water, blenders, electrocution, fire, and bricks, among other ways. Buyers can commission the cat, tools and tactics.
The content is typically consumed and created by young men aged 16 to 24, who sometimes celebrate the extreme violence as if it was a video game.
Screenshots from inside one encrypted chat group expose claims this includes a 'massive circle' in Australia.
'Bro people like that have been trying to nail for about four years now and all they have is the fact I live in Australia. Like that's a massive circle.'
Other screenshots show members claiming to be children.
'I'm 10 years old and I torture cats.'
Sexual crime links
UK animal crime investigator and retired senior detective Mark Randell pointed to the possibility of a link between the Sydney case and sexual abusers.
Randell, who has over 40 years of investigative experience all over the world, told news.com.au this would be his first line of inquiry.
'When there are cats involved, I'd start by considering links to crimes of violence against women and sexual crimes,' says Randell.
'I'd want to scan other similar crimes against humans and animals. I believe there's a dangerous offender in the community.'
Activists confirm some consumers turn to this content because the screams of a cat sound like a woman or child.
They may also feel motivated to harm the animal women love most from a sense of rejection, echoing the ideology of the incel community.
In October 2024, a ring member in Turkey brutally murdered two young women before taking his own life. Another Chinese ring member murdered 8 people in October 2024.
Haunting screenshots from the chats demonstrate members' alleged motivations to escalate their aggression to human victims.
'Today I abuse cats. Tomorrow I abuse people,' reads one message from a ring member.
'I'm sure I'll kill someone later,' reads another.
'The disturbing connection between incels and cat abuse exposes a dangerous intersection of misogyny and violence among angry young men,' says Lara.
While parallels can be drawn between the Sydney cases and the networks, Randal warns against rushing to conclusions.
'There are possible similarities with other cat torture networks. But at this stage I'd want to have a very open mind.'
Randell warned when police don't take animal abuse seriously, the community can be left vulnerable to related acts of violence.
That's why Feline Guardians take matters into their own hands.
Going undercover
Unmasking sadists is hard work.
They're careful to conceal their identity and location. That's why activists work around the clock, waiting for them to slip up.
With volunteers across the globe – including Australia, the UK and China – there's almost always one of them ready to act, whatever the time difference. Despite most members holding down day jobs, they stay up all night when they're close to cracking a case.
Their undercover work involves combing footage and forums for clues. They examine the backgrounds for signs of torturers' personal lives, or wait for them to accidentally reveal it themselves.
Sometimes, that's not enough.
'They go to great lengths to hide their locations, often removing anything identifiable in the background or torturing in front of blank walls and floors,' Lara says.
Some activists learn the language and infiltrate the chat groups to gain their trust.
When they expose the sadist's secret depravity, activists are often threatened with doxing or violence.
But using this sleuth approach, they've unmasked hundreds of people. And they're showing no signs of slowing down.
Lisa Jones, a Melbourne activist of Chinese descent, devotes much of her time to tracking down torturers.
'I've exposed many torturers, but it seldom stops them.'
Jones points to a cultural barrier that protects animal abusers.
'Most Chinese people have no education about animals, so they treat them like objects. And there are no laws to protect them.'
Jones shared concerns about the networks bleeding into Australia and beyond.
'I'm concerned these cat torture networks will expand to Australia and the rest of the world.'
'They've already spread to the US and Europe, with more and more teenagers being radicalised every day.'
Jones warns animal cruelty laws are not strong enough to stop the rings spreading to Australia.
Stopping the spread
There are growing calls for social media giants to protect users from exposure to the sickening content.
A spokesperson from Telegram urged users to report animal abuse content to moderators.
'Content that encourages violence including animal abuse, is explicitly forbidden by Telegram,' said the spokesperson.
They claim moderators are using AI to 'remove millions of pieces of harmful content each day, including animal abuse content.'
'We remove content that glorifies violence,' said a spokesperson for Meta.
'Since harm to the animal may not be immediately apparent, we rely on a combination of community reports, technology, and human review to remove violating content.'
'Content depicting violence or abuse toward animals has no place on YouTube,' said a YouTube spokesperson. 'This includes content that shows animal suffering, neglect, or mistreatment to shock the viewer or glorify the abuse.'
X did not respond to news.com.au.
Lara said activists are relentlessly reporting accounts spreading torture content. But there's a limit to what they can do.
'They are sometimes removed. But nothing is done to prevent new accounts from forming.'
Despite China having some of the world's most restricted internet access, local cat torture content is rarely removed.
Meaningful change
Activists say there's only one way to stop the spread: changing the law.
China's lack of animal cruelty legislation is a glaring loophole enabling torturers to profit from the networks.
Under increasing international pressure, Chinese state media have named and shamed some people for alleged animal torture. But there have been very few criminal prosecutions.
In May, Feline Guardians helped organise protests in 20 major cities around the world calling for an end to the networks.
'The Chinese government desperately needs to take action to solve this issue,' said Jones.