Torture of Animals: Online Content
1/32. What steps she is taking to help tackle online content promoting the torture of animals.
Online content depicting or promoting animal torture is horrific and—let me be clear—unacceptable. Under the Online Safety Act 2023, animal cruelty is a priority offence, which needs proactive steps from platforms to counter it. We will keep the pressure on to enforce that.
Earlier this year, two teenagers were prosecuted for the torture and killing of kittens in a public park. A BBC investigation has since uncovered a disturbing international network sharing videos of extreme cruelty to cats and kittens, and users here in the UK and those prosecuted have been found to be in possession of that material. Online animal abuse is not a harmless niche; it is a recognised warning sign for escalating violence, including serious crimes against women and girls. I am pleased that the Prime Minister’s Christmas card promotes kindness towards animals. Will my hon. Friend outline what further work his Department is doing to ensure that we address harmful content?
May I first pay tribute to my hon. Friend—and indeed her cats Clement Cattlee and Mo Meowlam—for being right at the vanguard of campaigning on this serious issue. Animal cruelty is a priority offence in the law, as I mentioned, and Ofcom must enforce it and platforms must act on it. The Government will keep the pressure on, as we have done in our engagements with the platforms, to ensure that our cats—our animals—are safe from cruelty.
Can the Government do more to ensure proactive detection of this vile material, such as by using artificial intelligence tools and human moderators with specialist training in animal cruelty, so that such content is swiftly identified and removed, and put robust measures in place to prevent it from reappearing online?
I thank the hon. Member for an apt question on this theme. As I mentioned, animal cruelty is a priority offence under the law. Platforms must take proactive steps, including to assess risk before it pertains and to remove content where it clearly falls foul of the law. The Government will keep making sure that enforcement through the regulator and via platforms continues at pace.