YouTube is the largest video platform in the world, allowing the sharing of a lot of high quality content.
But there are also horrible things, some of which YouTube refuses to remove for the moment, such as the "live feeding" videos.

What do we see in these videos ?

You can see reptiles (snakes, turtles, etc.) or large batrachians, which are fed with live animals. These animals, trapped in the vivarium (most often a simple glass box), have no escape. We then see them tremble, freeze or run in all directions, all sometimes accompanied by a little amusing music, or mocking comments.

Sometimes they cannot even run, immobilized with pliers to be offered to the predator.

We see baby mice, still blind and barely able to move, trying to survive the bites of a rattlesnake...

We see hamsters, dumped in large numbers in the glass cage of a big frog, panicking while waiting to see who will be eaten...

We see ducklings trembling, thrown into the cage of a big frog, watching, terrified, mice being devoured...

And I have only been able to watch a few of these videos.
I dare not imagine what all the others contain, and those to come if YouTube does not put an end to this horror.

Why are these videos problematic ?

Here is what the defenders of these videos often say :

- "In nature, reptiles eat live prey, so it's natural !"
Of course, but here it is very different, we are not in nature, we are in an artificial environment, where predator and prey are locked together. I would have no problem seeing videos of snakes in the wild eating live prey. But in the wild, the prey has a chance to escape.

Here, in these "live feeding" videos, the prey is forced to fight for its life, with its weak means... what we find in many of the titles of these videos, like "Animal 1 (predator)" VS "Animal 2 (prey)". Yet Youtube is supposed to ban videos showing "Content where humans coerce animals to fight."

https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/2802008?hl=en&ref_topic=9282436

- "These videos are educational for reptile lovers !"
This is indeed often the argument put forward, but if it were the case we would not need so many videos to understand how a predator eats a prey.

In reality, these videos are unfortunately most often of a recreational nature, as can be seen in their staging, the music used, etc. The goal is clearly to make views, and therefore money, constantly seeking to make them more spectacular to renew the interest of their audience... and sometimes even to the detriment of the "predator" itself, by making it face scorpions, etc.

What the law says ?

Animal rights are in constant progress, and they must be treated in the most humane way possible. Veterinarians now agree that "live feeding" causes intense psychological stress and unnecessary pain for the sacrificed animal, and that there are actually very few if any predators that can eat ONLY live animals.

Concerning live feeding, here are some excerpts from the latest advice from the BVA (British Veterinary Association), dated April 3, 2022 :

https://www.bva.co.uk/media/4537/ntcawg-principles-and-emerging-themes.pdfhttps://kb.rspca.org.au/knowledge-base/is-it-necessary-to-feed-my-pet-reptile-live-prey/

• (...) In theory, anyone live feeding a vertebrate to a predator species could be prosecuted under the Animal Welfare Act (...)
• Arguing that live feeding was an important part of natural behaviour for the predator animal was a weak argument given that captivity was not a natural environment.
• It was agreed that live feeding of vertebrates could not be supported in any circumstance, and NTCAs (= reptiles, amphibians, etc.) which required live feeding of vertebrates should not be kept.
• Understanding of invertebrate sentience was evolving and more difficult to define than for vertebrates.
• In all cases the welfare needs of invertebrates should be met prior to feeding.

Conclusion :

If YouTube is sensitive to current societal issues, then the animal cause should be a full part of it.

Because, make animals suffer to make views, how could YouTube accept that ?

Important note:
Do not try to watch these videos, they are not only disturbing but it will increase their number of views even more.
But if you still come across one of them, please report it to YouTube, this way : https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/2802027?hl=en-GB&co=GENIE.Platform%3DDesktop#zippy=%2Creport-a-video

Then also report it here : https://www.smaccoalition.com/report-a-concern

THANKS.