Vet goes 'too far' with freshly castrated testicle Elf on the Shelf prank

I'm all for pushing the boundaries of humour, but incorporating a freshly castrated testicle into an Elf on the Shelf prank might be a step too far.

Don't get me wrong, Santa's naughty little helpers end up getting into all kinds of mischief in the run up to Christmas - but they don't often start playing surgeon and chopping off a horse's huge cojones.

Lingfield Equine Vets clearly wanted to squash the competition between parents by sharing its own take on the modern festive tradition for kids - even though their attempt isn't exactly suitable for youngsters.

The team must of been that busy looking after their horses, ponies and donkeys that Buddy the Elf was able to run rampant for the day and try his hand at a simple castration. Rather him than me.

Just look at the image of him grinning manically while wielding a set of tools that are aptly name emasculators, while a large veiny testicle sits just inches away from him.

Social media users have either been downright disgusted or devilishly amused by the graphic snap which was shared by the Surrey-based vets and subsequently went viral.

To be fair to them, the caption was bang on theme and read: "These bells aren't very jingly…"

Kennedy

But people have been left divided by the Elf stunt, with some dubbing it 'genius' and saying the vets are 'winning the internet', while those with weaker stomachs branded it 'just wrong' and 'too far'.

Kate Granshaw admitted she 'ummed and aahed' about sharing the 'vet humour' post earlier this month as she was well aware it wouldn't be to everyone's taste.

With permission from the horse's owner, she pulled the trigger and uploaded the snap of the Elf after 'completing' his mission of emasculating the animal.

Kate revealed she has previously caught Buddy on camera while he was 'washing' medical implements, meddling with clippers and lurking in Christmas trees. He get's around!

However, this was Buddy's 'first castration', according to the 41-year-old said.

Kennedy

Kate said: "We often come up with ideas for posts and it was actually myself, our head nurse and a member of our reception team who came up with this particular post.

"The picture was taken at the owner's yard, with the owner's consent, where the surgery was done.

"It's a castration or a gelding. It's a typical operation for male horses, there's nothing wrong with him at all.

"This is a common procedure, same as it would be for neutering cats or dogs, it just allows them to live a more normal life and not have any unwanted breeding situations."

The post attracted thousands of likes, shares and comments after Kate plucked up the courage to share it.

One person wrote: "This idea might be a bit too far for your kids."

Another said: "Wow think this might be a bit too far for elf on a shelf in my house."

A third added: "Who writes these posts, they are genius!"

And a fourth chimed in: "You win the internet for today."