A video showing a U.S. Marine throwing a puppy off a cliff in Iraq could further damage the U.S. image abroad.
A mobile phone video showing a U.S. Marine throwing a puppy off a cliff in Iraq triggered a wave of criticism and threatened to further damage the U.S. image abroad.
In just two days, the video was viewed 150,000 times on YouTube before the video-sharing website decided to remove it.
More than four thousand comments were posted about the 17-second video, most of which criticised the two Marines who were seen joking as one of them was holding the black and white puppy before throwing it over a cliff.
A loud sound was heard as the puppy flied through the air.
“Cute little puppy, huh?” one of the marines says jokingly while holding the puppy by the scruff of the neck and showing it to the camera.
“Aww so cute, so cute, little puppy,” one of his comrade says.
“Uh, uh, uh, I tripped,” the man says before turning and throwing the puppy into the air.
One of their comrades was heard off-screen saying: “That’s mean. That’s mean, Motari.”
"Shocking and deplorable"
Some viewers raised doubts over whether the puppy was alive when the Marine threw him, despite the fact that whether dead or alive, throwing the puppy off the cliff is cruel, callous and inhumane.
According to the Times Online, Major Chris Perrine of the Marine Corps Base Hawaii says it appears the man is based with a unit in the islands.
In a statement, the Marines called the video "shocking and deplorable" and said it violates "the high standard we expect of every Marine".
“We do not tolerate this type of behaviour and will take appropriate action,” the statement added.
Some U.S. websites identified the puppy killer as 22-year-old David Motari, who recently returned from Iraq and is based in Hawaii.
Angry people started posting his personnel information on their websites, including his address, phone number and pictures of his car. Some bloggers called for Motari to be ostracised, while others said that the video was simply bringing home the horrors of the Iraq war.
"If David Motari is the puppy killer, he is undoubtedly a sociopath who does not feel remorse or shame," wrote Mike on the Crime and Federalism weblog.
"After confirming him as the puppy killer, we must engage in an online campaign to ensure that everyone who does business with or associates with him is warned. The puppy had no choice; humans, through education, will."
“Animal cruelty”
Motari's local newspaper, the Herald, said it had shown the video to some veterinarians at Washington State University, but they could not confirm whether it was genuine or not.
However, Dr Matt Mickas, chief of Community Practice Services at the university's veterinary college, said the video appears genuine because of the way the puppy went slack by being held from the neck.
"If this is something legitimate, it's one of the most egregious acts of animal cruelty I have ever seen, if not the most”, Dr Mikas said.
"To me, the sound on the YouTube clip sounded like a puppy in distress - the same sound we hear when the puppies come into the hospital," he added.
The puppy killing video adds to the atrocities committed by occupation forces in Iraq, where not only people are being killed on a daily basis, but apparently animals have their share too.
Source: AJP
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