Animals are deserving of our protection.  They are living beings like us, and we possess a moral duty to ensuring that they live happy and safe lives. Cruelty toward animals should be condemned and opposed in the same manner as cruelty toward human beings. 

Instagram and YouTube are amazing platforms that have overall made life better for us.  Users can experience more of the arts, knowledge, and entertainment that the world has to offer. They are fantastic forums to encourage communities to foster our creativity, compassion, and love for our fellow creatures. However, people with cruel and depraved hearts have also used these platforms to broadcast their mistreatment of animals for entertainment purposes.  This should be stopped. 

YouTube and Instagram have a moral and economic responsibility and duty to oppose these crimes against life. Both entities have the power and discretion to define animal abuse.  Abuse should be defined as any circumstance by act or omission that causes an animal distress.  As with abuse among humans, such as emotional abuse, an animal does not have to be physically harmed to be abused. 

Please help to urge YouTube and Instagram to implement an alerting system for flagging animal abuse, and taking action to ban associated users, just as they would abuse toward human beings.  Greater compassion, empathy, and responsibility toward our fellow creatures is the torch that our children and the new generations will bear to guide us toward a promising future.  Without this, there is no future. 

Thank you.  

I. Change desired:

A. "Animal Abuse" should be defined by YouTube and Instagram policy according to a strict standard which includes not only physical harm, but distress to the animal by act or omission (e.g. neglect). 

B. "Report animal abuse" should be added as a category a feedback loop to a) internal response for banning accounts, and b) to local authorities to respond, for the following:

YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/reportabuse

and

https://support.google.com/youtube/topic/2803176?hl=en&ref_topic=2676378

and all associated policies

Instagram:

https://help.instagram.com/165828726894770 (> "Report Something") 

and all associated policies

II. Projected Impact of this Change

If this change is effected, the projected impact would be the following:

1. Abuse would be curtailed as users who are encouraged to abuse animals for purposes of attention and entertainment would be discouraged from doing so.  

2. Flagging abuse would provide a mechanism for local authorities to take action in conformity with local laws and regulations.

3. Instagram and YouTube, two of the world's most powerful and impactful entities, and both essential communication, entertainment, and educational platforms, would establish a precedent and example that would serve to build a foundation toward a transformed future in which humankind treats their fellow animals with the responsibility and respect that they deserve.