Instagram is a fun and simple social media site that allows people to share creativity, but like all internet platforms, it has a dark side.

Part of most of my mornings involves a quick scroll through beautiful images over a coffee, however a number of times I have had to report disturbing content for one reason or another. Most of the time my reason for reporting content on Instagram to the moderators is because of clear animal abuse, however there is no animal abuse option, or explicit community guidelines provided by the site. Dog fights, starvation, beatings, inhumane captivity, and even the eating of animals that are still alive squirming and screaming (#mukbang) are all horrors I have come across. The worst part of these all too common occurrences is that posts like this often have thousands of likes, signifying a lack of understanding about basic animal welfare among the audience.

This morning I awoke to find a video of a lion and a tiger trapped in a cage smaller than my spare bedroom biting and clawing at each other.  It was heartbreaking and I knew that Instagram can do more to educate it's users about animal welfare.

Animal cruelty is understood by legal societies, the SPCA and the Humane Society as the abuse and / or neglect of an animal. This includes but is not limited to a failure to provide adequate water, food, shelter, or necessary care. Inadequate space and poor conditions of captivity, physical and verbal violence and sexual abuse. Intentionally causing suffering and the prevention of conditions which an animal can find well being. 

Animal cruelty is illegal in most parts of the world. Instagram has a responsibility to educate and moderate their community in a way which ensures perpetrators do not benefit from this crime.
Sign today to ask the executives at Instagram to include definitions for animal welfare and cruelty in their community guidelines and create an Animal Abuse reporting option so these heinous post can be stopped.