Inside the twisted ‘cat torture ring’ sweeping across social media

'This is one of the most horrific acts in the history of animal rights.'

On a blurry screen, a kitten cowers behind a curtain as the shadow of a man looms overhead. He reaches out, grabs the cat by the tail and stamps down on it.

The horrific footage, seen by Metro, is said to show what goes on in an alleged ‘cat torture ring’ dedicated to the abuse and killing of animals.  

In China, where the video was filmed, pets are often considered pests rather then a much-loved member of the family. Dogs have been doused in hot oil, unwanted puppies buried alive and disabled cats abandoned on the street, according to charities who work in the country. 

But the perpetrators behind such horrific acts aren’t worried about being caught, because animal cruelty is not punishable by law in China. 

However, one group of vigilante cat-lovers is determined to change that. 

‘There are no words that can describe the amount of anger I feel,’ says Rachel*, a cyber activist at Feline Guardians Without Borders, a group made up of people from across 30 countries who have secretly joined online messaging boards where alleged abusers gather.

Rachel – who doesn’t want to reveal her real name due to safety concerns –  became aware of Feline Guardians Without Borders in May 2023, after several viral videos highlighted the treatment of cats in China. Since then, she has infiltrated social media platform Telegram to keep tabs on perpetrators. 

‘The amount of evil in those groups exceeded anything I could have imagined,’ Rachel, who is in her 40s, tells Metro.

‘The last video I saw was of a cat tortured with an electric drill. It was posted to their [the cat torture ring’s] Telegram group.  Their discussions are vile. 

‘They discuss how to amputate a cat’s legs without it bleeding to death. The abusers then post their “works” to the Telegram chats, and I, along with other undercover volunteers in those groups, watch cats die in horrific ways every day.’

While Rachel observes the videos with ‘great anger and despair’, she remains silent to avoid being detected. She lies in wait and hopes the abusers will reveal details about their personal lives, which Feline Guardians Without Borders then use to their advantage. 

While they can’t force Chinese authorities to take action, they can contact the alleged abusers’ places of work, family or friends in a bid to shame the individuals. 

A recent video posted on Weibo, a Chinese social media platform similar to Twitter, showed a student beating a white kitten with a clothes-hanger. The young man, while not punished by the authorities, was expelled after his university received numerous letters of complaint from outraged animal activists. But his case isn’t common.

‘The abusers are very clever,’ Rachel explains. ‘They are typically skilled at hiding their true identities, going to great lengths such as using multiple phones, having multiple numbers from different countries.’

According to Feline Guardians Without Borders, the ‘cat torture ring’ operates like an online business with secret messaging groups and protected websites utilised to grow the twisted ‘community’.

It is thought people pay from across the globe pay to view the vile footage, thus creating a financial incentive for the abusers. Volunteers claim to have seen footage of cats lynched, placed in washing machines and cooked in air-fryers.

With the frequency of messages slowing around exam time in China, the group believe it suggests that some of the perpetrators could be students or young people.

Metro was made aware of the ‘torture ring’ by Sandra*, a 35-year-old based in the south of England. In her spare time, she becomes an armchair detective for Feline Guardians Without Borders.

Sandra, who has two rescue cats, tells Metro: ‘When I first saw an uncensored video, I was shaking in shock and the images haven’t left my mind. I think about the cats day and night.

‘It plays over in my mind. I’m appalled that such graphic content is not removed.’

While the footage would cause uproar if posted from the UK, where those who abuse animals face trial by the courts and trial by social media, in the People’s Republic of China, there are currently no nationwide laws which explicitly prohibit the mistreatment of animals.

However, World Animal Protection notes how there is some legislation protecting the welfare of animals exists in certain contexts, such as for research purposes and within zoos.

Rachel and Sandra, and others at Feline Guardians Without Borders, have reached out to politicians such as Xie Feng, the Chinese Ambassador to the US. Meanwhile, charities such as Animal Asia, Humane Society International and Four Paws UK have put pressure on authorities to improve the protection of animals.

Last year, Vice News explored one man’s plans for a horrific ‘live-stream’ of cat torture in China, while Metro reported on how 1,000 cats had nearly been slaughtered and sold as pork or mutton.

Elisa Allen, vice president of programmes at PETA UK, says campaigners ‘live in hope’ that change in the country will come, sooner rather than later.

‘Cats in China are constantly at risk of losing all nine of their lives,’ she tells Metro.

‘They are commonly kidnapped and bludgeoned for their fur, subjected to vicious attacks from callous individuals who may even post this torture on the internet, or forced to eke out an existence on the streets, suffering from hunger, weather extremes, parasites, injuries, and disease. 

‘Technology and exports can’t make up for a lack of understanding of animal sentience, and we live in hope that China will implement and enforce even basic animal protection laws, which include tough sentences for anyone involved in animal abuse or neglect.’

Until that day comes, Feline Guardians Without Borders have vowed to continue their fight to save as many cats as possible. With volunteers across the world – including Australia, Mexico, Europe and Japan – there is almost always a cat-lover poised to jump online and take action, no matter the time difference.

Rachel has cats of her own at home in the US. They bring her joy by being their ‘cuddly and goofy’ selves. She thinks of them every time she logs on to help Feline Guardians Without Borders.

Recently, she compiled a 55-page report – complete with pictures, screenshots and video screen grabs – to highlight the abuse in China and brought it to her local police station. There, she was told they could not deal with cases outside the country.

‘I don’t have words to describe the amount of anger and despair I feel, knowing that the abusers always “win”,’ Rachel says.

‘Feline Guardians is doing whatever it takes. We call for anti-animal cruelty laws in China; we expose the abusers to make their lives harder. People can support us by signing the petitions on our website, helping us reach media groups to cover this.

‘This is one of the most horrific acts in the history of animal rights.’

To find out more about Feline Guardians Without Borders, click here.

*Names have been changed

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