A nine-year-old child travelled to a petting zoo in the Netherlands by themselves and strangled 11 animals.
According to the Daily Mirror, the child showed 'no emotion' as they carried out the solo killing spree on rabbits and guinea pigs, and that, according to local Dutch media, the child 'hunted' the animals.
The young boy had reportedly visited the petting zoo in Alkmaar before under supervision, and on 11 March, went back alone where he killed as many as nine rabbits and two guinea pigs.
He strangled the animals to death but the motive for doing why is not clear, and perhaps we're better off not knowing.
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The child was eventually caught by the police and his parents arrived at the petting zoo.
"It makes you completely sick," petting zoo manager Ali Dorenbos told local media, and explained that it wasn't the first time the attraction had been struck by animal abuse.
She said: "The sheep were shot with bows and arrows, their udders were pulled, and the goats were shaken by their horns."
The Metro also reports that because the child is below the age of 12, he will not face criminal charges for strangling the 11 animals, but he will be enrolled into a care program.
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Psychiatrist Esther van Fenema said she felt sorry for the animals who had been strangled to death and for the child who did it, saying: "I feel sorry for the animals, but also for the little boy who apparently feels so bad that he has to do this.
"If you kill an animal in the house; explain to the child why. Even if it is an insect. So that it learns that you don’t wring the neck of a guinea pig, which is harmful."
This disturbing development follows the reporting of a new trend where children are torturing and killing animals as part of a WhatsApp group.
The groups involve pictures and videos of people torturing animals, including shooting them with slingshots and kicking them when they collapse.
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The RSPCA has described the attacks as 'sick' and 'horrendous', with their lead wildlife officer saying they'd been seeing 'more and more injured animals being reported to us that are being hit by catapults'.
A swan sanctuary said that they were currently looking after around 20 birds with injuries inflicted by torture, and volunteer Danni Rogers said he could see no reason for it beyond 'just pure evil fun'.
Topics: Animals, World News
Joe Harker