PETA Asia Statement re Arrest of 14-Year-Old Linked to Online Cat Abuse Network

Following reports that a 14-year-old Hong Kong student was arrested in connection with an online network circulating disturbing, graphic images and videos depicting the abuse—including sexual assault—of cats, PETA Asia is rushing humane education materials to the Education Bureau and urging their swift implementation to help prevent violence by young people. These include Share the World, a program designed to foster empathy for all living, feeling beings.

Below, please find a statement from PETA Asia President Jason Baker:

As a parent, I know firsthand that teaching a child to be kind to a cat is every bit as important for the child as it is for the cat. When young people find it amusing to beat, mutilate, and terrorize cats and post footage of the animals’ suffering online, it’s clear that humane education is sorely needed. PETA is urging the Education Bureau to help prevent future acts of cruelty by implementing empathy curricula in schools, and stands ready to help teach students that every living being, whether a cat or a classmate, deserves respect.

PETA urges the public not to engage with online content depicting cruelty to animals because doing so can increase its visibility—and potentially lead to more violence. Instead, concerned citizens should immediately report such content to law enforcement and PETA so that the suspect may be identified and prosecuted.

PETA Asia—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to abuse in any way”—points out that Every Animal Is Someone and offers free Empathy Kits. For more information, please visit PETAAsia.com or follow PETA Asia on X, Facebook, or Instagram.