Animal Crushing: Inside the Global Underground Networks of Animal Torture

The operation of these illicit networks was detailed by Héliya, president of the animal welfare organization MNV International, who described encountering videos in which animals, including puppies, kittens, rabbits, rodents, frogs, and monkeys, are subjected to extreme cruelty. “We see the horror of the animals that are behind,” she said, noting that a culture of torture has developed where participants seek to test the limits of animal endurance, dissection, and resuscitation for prolonged suffering. MNV International reported that a 2023 video showing a cat placed inside a blender marked a turning point in the propagation of such content across digital platforms.

Structure and Three-Tier Hierarchy of Online Torture Networks

Investigations conducted by MNV International reveal that the infrastructure of these networks relies on a multi-tiered approach, moving users from mainstream platforms to encrypted environments. Initial contact often begins on widely used social networks, where playlists and clips involving animal mistreatment circulate. Comment sections on these platforms frequently feature demands for escalating violence, accompanied by links directing users toward encrypted messaging services such as Telegram.

The network operates across three primary technological pillars: accessible web platforms that act as gateways, Tor networks providing access to explicit video libraries, and encrypted messaging applications housing hierarchical communities. Within Telegram, investigators identified a three-tier structure:

• Level One: Relatively accessible channels sharing memes, coded messages, and indirect references to animal abuse.
• Level Two: Selective groups where participants must demonstrate interest by detailing preferred torture methods, as outlined by Audrey, co-president of MNV International.
• Level Three: The core network, requiring members to either personally film the torture and killing of a cat or financially compensate third parties to execute the acts.

Me Juliette Chapelle, an attorney specializing in the fight against online child sexual abuse and a member of the association Les Enfants d’Argus, noted structural parallels between these animal cruelty rings and criminal pedocriminal networks. Observing the progression through increasingly severe tiers of violence, she compared the advancement within the network to “an ascension in the violence, as if they were winning a badge at each step.”

Commercial Mechanics and Cross-Over with Child Exploitation

Within these closed groups, violence functions as a negotiable product. Audrey of MNV International stated that clients can select the target species, the nature of the abuse, and its duration, with animals sometimes subjected to days or weeks of repeated trauma involving cycles of injury, medical resuscitation, and renewed abuse. Monitoring teams report that new torture videos appear approximately every two hours, with custom requests commanding prices reaching several thousand euros.

MNV International estimates that several tens of thousands of individuals gravitate around these networks. The continuous supply of animals is sustained through various illicit circuits, including stolen household pets, stray cats and dogs captured from streets, fraudulent adoptions, and the acquisition of sick or unsold animals at low costs. Small rodents are frequently purchased in large quantities.

Investigators have documented alarming intersections between these animal torture rings and other forms of illegal digital content. Audrey reported observing the simultaneous circulation of animal torture videos and child sexual abuse material within the same groups. This institutional porosity was confirmed to reporting outlets by the National Division for the Fight Against Animal Cruelty (DNLMA), a unit operating under France’s Ministry of the Interior.

Regarding participant demographics, neither investigators nor law enforcement have identified a uniform social profile. Drawing comparisons to her casework in child sexual abuse investigations—where offenders range in age from 18 to 83, predominantly male, and span professions from police officers and business executives to accountants and cashiers—Audrey noted a comparable professional diversity among infiltrated animal torture groups. MNV International and the DNLMA have identified participants working as physicians, lawyers, psychiatrists, and veterinarians, characterizing them as ordinary individuals rather than isolated psychological profiles.

Transnational Scope and Legal Blind Spots in France

The illicit trade operates across international borders. MNV International reports that a significant proportion of these groups originate in China, where national general legislation regarding animal protection and welfare is absent. Investigators have also identified perpetrators and executors in Turkey—where a single Telegram group was found to contain more than 70,000 people—as well as in Japan, the United Kingdom, the United States, and France.

The transnational nature of the distribution creates substantial hurdles for law enforcement. The DNLMA, which collaborates with the UNCyber, the cyber unit of the gendarmerie, highlighted that commanditaires (commissioners) often reside in one country, executors in another, and server hosting providers in a third jurisdiction, complicating cross-border judicial coordination and the identification of individuals hiding behind pseudonyms.

In France, current legal frameworks present significant enforcement challenges regarding consumers of these paid-for services. Under the law of November 30, 2021, acts of severe cruelty or abuse toward animals carry penalties of up to three years’ imprisonment and a 45,000-euro fine, rising to five years and 75,000 euros if the animal dies. Knowingly recording these acts is treated as complicity, while online dissemination is punishable by two years in prison and a 30,000-euro fine.

However, legal experts and investigators emphasize that simply consulting a video or paying for access to content does not currently constitute a specific, standalone criminal offense under French law. The act of commissioning torture specifically to be filmed is not explicitly penalized. DNLMA investigators have advocated for legislative updates to close this gap.

By contrast, the United States enacted the PACT Act in 2019, which explicitly criminalizes the creation, sale, distribution, and advertising of animal crushing videos, regardless of whether the conduct occurs domestically or internationally for the U.S. market. France currently lacks an equivalent legislative mechanism.

Legislative and Governmental Responses

Efforts by advocacy groups and lawmakers to prompt government action have faced delays. In June 2026, the Foundation for Animal Law, Ethics and Science (LFDA) petitioned the presidents of parliamentary groups in the National Assembly to establish a parliamentary commission of inquiry, though without immediate success. Parliamentary inquiries initiated by lawmakers—including a written question submitted on April 23 by Senator Paulette Matray to the Ministry of Agriculture, and another by Deputy Alexandra Martin on June 23 regarding the commercialization of animal cruelty videos—have remained unanswered by the government.

Deputy Martin expressed concern that the issue is not being treated with sufficient gravity and indicated plans to introduce a private member’s bill specifically targeting the commissioners of online animal torture. Meanwhile, broader governmental initiatives against animal mistreatment—such as instructions issued by Sébastien Lecornu in late July directing nine ministers to implement eleven actions by October 1—did not explicitly include measures targeting animal crushing. Ministries of Agriculture and the Interior have declined to comment.