A Telegram messaging app group with over 100 members sold videos of animals — including cats, rabbits, hamsters, birds, and an axolotl — being tortured and crushed to death, many for sexual gratification.

The group offered a price list for animals to be killed, ranging from a baby mouse for $5 to a family of kittens for $180.

And Telegram did nothing.

This content was sold, shared, and viewed repeatedly on the platform — with zero reports made to authorities by Telegram, despite clear violations of animal cruelty laws and potential child abuse risks.

Two individuals in Winnipeg have pleaded guilty to killing over 90 animals in this kill-for-profit scheme. Irene Lima, 56, and Chad Kabecz, 41, were arrested in October 2024, following an anonymous tip to Manitoba's provincial veterinarian about the group.

The videos were hosted and distributed through Telegram, often involving disturbing and graphic violence. This content is illegal. It is cruel. And Telegram enabled it.

We demand that Telegram and its parent company immediately:

• Flag and report all animal torture content to law enforcement and international animal protection authorities
• Permanently ban all known “crush” and animal cruelty groups, accounts, and admins
• Invest in stronger AI and human moderation to detect and shut down illegal wildlife exploitation content
• Cooperate with investigations into ongoing or historic animal cruelty crimes facilitated via the platform.

Telegram claims to protect freedom of speech — but freedom to torture and kill innocent animals is not a right. It’s a crime.

Sign now to demand Telegram be held accountable — and stop giving abusers a platform to profit from cruelty.