Couple who Made Animal Abuse Videos Sentenced to Life in Prison

In a bizarre and disturbing bit of news, we have learned that a couple who produced graphic online animal abuse videos in the Philippines have been sentenced to life in prison. This story is very upsetting and we’re glad the abusers have been brought to justice!

The couple, Vicente and Dorma Ridon, were jailed in 2012 for producing fetish videos that showed live animals being abused and crushed to death by young girls, called “crush videos.” The group said the video depicted extreme cruelty to animals, including:

• a dog getting skinned alive
• rabbits flailing and screaming as their ears were cut off and as they were set on fire
• a dog getting burned with a flat iron
• a monkey and several dogs getting hit in the eyes with the sharp end of a stiletto heel
• puppies getting crushed until they vomited their own internal organs.

PETA’s Asia-Pacific chapter said the couple were convicted of charges on cruelty to animals, child abuse, and human trafficking for supposedly forcing girls to torture and kill animals. In addition to the prison sentence, the couple were also fined more than $200,00 each for their part in making the videos.

Apparantly, the videos are called “crush videos.”

“The Ridons’ sentences are a warning to anyone involved in the vile crush video industry: There are grave consequences to harming animals’,” PETA Asia Vice President Jason Baker said to PhilStar.com

You Can Help Prevent Animal Abuse

This may seem like an isolated incident, and yes, this is an extreme case. But it is no means the only case of animal abuse. In fact, animal cruelty occurs every day in the U.S. but the law allows for this to happen. Practices like declawing, ear cropping and branding are real and need to stop. Living conditions for farmed animals need to improve and we need to stop viewing animals as material we can manipulate for profit and entertainment.

For more information about how to identify animal abuse and neglect (and what to do if you suspect or witness it!), check out this article.

Image source: dave.dave.dave/ Flickr