Animal content is popular on social media. While social media can be used positively for education about animal care, raising awareness of animal welfare issues and positive depictions of the human animal bond, other content can have direct or indirect negative welfare impacts on animals. Problematic content includes deliberate animal abuse or killing videos, videos normalising cruelty to pest animals in New Zealand, through to content which may upset some viewers or undermine responsible animal ownership but is not illegal. Exposure to this content can have adverse effects on people, particularly children and vulnerable young people.

Animal cruelty content online is on the rise. Videos depicting graphic animal abuse content can be widely viewed across social media platforms. The popularity of these videos can be inadvertently exacerbated by people who are disturbed or outraged by the content, driving up the performance of these videos in social media algorithms.

Depictions of animal abuse can send a dangerous message to the public that animal abuse is acceptable and even amusing and could inspire harmful ‘copycat’ actions. Social media platforms must take responsibility for moderating and removing animal abuse content.

SPCA opposes social media content that promotes or glamorises the keeping of wild animals as pets.

Social media accounts that feature wild animals as pets can encourage people to buy exotic animals or obtain wild animals as pets. This supports the illegal wildlife trade and may harm the animals, as in most cases their welfare needs cannot be met in captivity.

SPCA opposes social media content that shows people posing with captive wild animals.

SPCA acknowledges that most people who share photos and videos with captive wild animals, care about animals. Some tourist attractions may market themselves as sanctuaries or charities but involve close proximity to wild animals, selfies, animal rides, and interactions with vulnerable young animals.

SPCA opposes social media content that promotes animals with extreme conformation or known health issues.

SPCA advocates for people not to engage with this content and for social media platforms to adopt policies which facilitate its removal.

Promotion of animals with extreme conformation, such as brachycephalic (flat-faced) animals or known health issues, such as Scottish Fold cats, is known to normalise or minimise the impact of these health issues and drive public demand for these animals.

When specific breeds are featured prominently in social media accounts, it can create a surge in popularity, leading to an increase in demand. Unfortunately, some breeds or species may not be well-suited to all potential owners due to their unique physical, health, or behavioural needs.

SPCA opposes social media content that shows animals in inadequate or inappropriate environments or depicting animals showing abnormal repetitive behaviours as amusing.

SPCA advocates for people not to engage with this content and for social media platforms to adopt policies which facilitate its removal.

Depictions of animals in inappropriate or inadequate housing, such as small cages or barren enclosures, can normalise poor living conditions. Content showing animals displaying abnormal repetitive behaviours, such as tongue rolling in cows or tail spinning in dogs, can perpetuate the misconception that these conditions are acceptable, harmless or unavoidable.

SPCA urges caution when interacting with videos appearing to show animals being rescued from dangerous situations.

SPCA advocates for social media platforms to do more to identify and remove fake rescue content from their platforms.

There has been a growing trend of fake animal rescues on social media platforms. Fake rescue content shows animals who have intentionally been harmed or placed in dangerous situations, so that the content creator can appear to rescue the animal. The goal is to generate revenue from engagement (e.g. "likes" or "shares") or through direct appeals for funding.

To identify fake rescue videos, consider if there is legitimate rescue organisation involved, if the situation is likely to have occurred naturally and if the setting or storyline is repeated across multiple videos from the same creator. SPCA encourages people to report fake animal rescues to the relevant social media platform.

SPCA is concerned about social media trends which encourage dangerous or inappropriate interactions with animals.

SPCA advocates for people not to engage with this content and for social media platforms to adopt policies which facilitate its removal.

Social media trends that encourage dangerous or inappropriate interactions with animals, such as forcing animals into uncomfortable situations to record their reactions or scaring animals, pose significant risks to animal welfare. These behaviours not only compromise the welfare of the animals in the videos but can also normalise dangerous or inappropriate interactions and encourage followers to imitate unsafe interactions with animals, leading to potential injuries for both people and animals.