YouTube Starts Blocking Staged Animal Rescue Videos

YouTube has started blocking videos with staged animal rescues, which have been gaining popularity lately

popularity. In such videos, animals are deliberately placed in life-threatening conditions so that the operator will ultimately “rescue” them.

The video service told reporters thatThere is an alarming trend in which staged videos of violence against animals are appearing. In such videos, for example, a puppy can be given to a snake to be strangled, cats are buried alive, and dogs are tied to railroad tracks.

YouTube is also going to take tough measures inregarding videos showing animals being eaten. Apparently, we are talking about being eaten alive. At the same time, videos in which invertebrates, in particular octopuses, are eaten alive, will not be prohibited, because these creatures are traditionally eaten in this way.

How moderators will distinguish real videos from staged rescues, YouTube did not explain.