The BC SPCA is investigating videos circulating online that appear to show a group of teenagers blowing thick smoke from bongs into a small kitten’s face.
In one video shared on the social media app Snapchat, a teenager can be seen lighting a bong, presumably with marijuana in it, and inhaling while another young person holds up a kitten in front of them. The teenager then exhales smoke directly into the animal’s face as it squirms and holds its paw up to shield itself. The word “stoney” appears in a caption on the video.
Another Snapchat clip shows a young female inhaling from a bong while what appears to be the same kitten sits in her shirt with its face poking out of the neckline. As she exhales, a thick plume can be seen engulfing her and the kitten.
The BC SPCA was alerted to the existence of the videos by a phone call on Wednesday morning.
Marcie Moriarty, the chief prevention and enforcement officer for the BC SPCA, said she believes the teenagers probably thought it would be entertaining to get the kitten high.
“It’s not a joke. I think that’s what probably these young people were thinking when they filmed it,” she told CTV Vancouver on Wednesday. “That comes with some tragic implications for the family pet.”
Experts claim that cannabis can affect animals differently than humans.
“It is very dangerous to pets,” Moriarty said. “It can affect their heart rate, their nervous systems and it’s not fun for the pet.”
Dana Larsen, a pot activist and director of the Vancouver Dispensary Society, said that, while marijuana might benefit some animals, such as those with injuries or joint pain, blowing smoke at an animal isn’t the way to treat it.
“A person isn’t going to like smoke being blown in their face like that and an animal isn’t going to like it either,” he said.
Moriarty said the BC SPCA has received information on the identities of the teenagers involved in the videos. She said an investigator will be conducting interviews to determine whether any charges will be laid.
It’s illegal to cause an animal to be in distress under the province’s Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act.
“I think in this case, absolutely, there could potentially be those ramifications down the road,” Moriarty said.
With files from CTV Vancouver
