Boy, 15, arrested over video of young man punching cat in head
A teenager has been arrested after a sickening video emerged of a young man punching a cat in the head.
In the clip, a ginger cat is seen sniffing the young man’s fingers, before he smacks the animal in the face, knocking it off a garden wall.
The force of the blow causes the cat to spin around and fall off the wall outside a row of terraced houses believed to be in Portsmouth, Hampshire.
The footage was shared on Snapchat alongside the caption ‘Geezer’, with the incident followed by laughter from off camera.
Hampshire police said a 15-year-old boy had been arrested on Sunday on suspicion of an offence under the Animal Welfare Act 2006.
A spokesman said: ‘We are investigating an incident in Portsmouth in which a cat was hit in the face.
‘We received a report of the incident and are also aware of a related video that has been circulated widely on social media.
BGT's Finn the police dog shares the stage with puppies making Simon emotional again‘An investigation is underway to establish the exact circumstances of what happened. We have also been in touch with the RSPCA.
‘Our officers arrested a 15-year-old boy on suspicion of an offence under the Animal Welfare Act 2006.’
An RSPCA spokeswoman added: ‘We are aware of the clip being circulated on social media and encourage anyone with information to contact us on 0300 1234 999.’