Woman caught hurling cat directly into path of chasing dog in 'absolutely disgraceful' video
An Australian woman is facing animal cruelty charges and a possible jail term after she was caught on video hurling a cat across her backyard.
The video is of Charli Gowland, from Wagga Wagga in New South Wales, and was filmed by her friend Jamilla Pearcy, who then posted it on Instagram with the title, 'caption this,' where it quickly went viral, according to the Daily Mail.
In the disturbing footage, Gowland can be seen carrying her friend's domestic long-haired cat named Merlin, before winding up and hurling him right into the path of a chasing dog. Unsurprisingly, the cruel act did not sit well with social media users, who did not hold back expressing their displeasure about Gowland's action.
"Id throw her in a den lions is that all good though?" one user tweeted, while a second one wrote, "They start with pets, and then they have kids - and start on them. This girl has already failed at being a normal human being."
"Seriously hope they throw the book at this absolute trash," a third person commented. "Being a young white woman, she'll get a slap on the wrist compared to a man doing the same. What an absolutely disgusting low life. Just lost for words."
Others similarly called for Gowland to be charged and thrown into jail, with one even suggesting that people should boycott her employer until they fired her.
A Wagga Wagga police officer confirmed that the authorities are investigating the incident. "I have seen the video and it's absolutely disgraceful," she said. "We have zero tolerance for animal cruelty in this community. Apart from it being really distasteful and disgusting, I don't see why anyone would see a video like that being funny."
The RSPCA has been notified of the video as well, and with the backlash only increasing, Gowland came out to defend her actions and claimed she only threw the cat because it had attacked her dogs.
She later apologized for her "inexcusable and wrong actions" and rubbished rumors that Merlin had died during the incident.
If found guilty of animal cruelty, she faces up to five years in prison, or a $22,000 fine.