Warning: Details of this story may be disturbing to some readers.
A 28-year-old woman was arrested January 19 and charged with four felony counts of aggravated cruelty to animals after police were alerted to multiple YouTube videos apparently showing horrific scenes involving a variety of animals. Anigar Monsee of Upper Darby, Pennsylvania, is accused of torturing animals on camera to gain likes and followers for her YouTube channel.
Monsee's account, which appeared at first glance to be filled with content related to cooking and food, also included sexually suggestive content and has been suspended by YouTube following the woman's arrest.
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Police describe the alleged crimes as 'utterly barbaric.'
The videos in question, which have been removed from YouTube, reportedly included footage of Monsee using a dull knife to dismember and kill a variety of live animals, including frogs, chickens, and pigeons.
Upper Darby Police Superintendent Timothy Bernhard told ABC 6 Philadephia that "these acts of animal cruelty are barbaric" and that it appears Monsee filming the animals was driven by a desire to become an influencer and to increase her social media follower count.
Monsee reportedly was actively encouraging more people to follow while killing a chicken.
During the interview with ABC 6, Bernhard described one of the horrifying videos: "During the video, she is soliciting more likes and more viewers and once she gets to the point where she is satisfied with the amount of viewers, she then proceeds over the course of ten minutes to harm and ultimately kill this chicken," he said.
She is reported to have other videos that follow the same format and feature a rabbit, pigeon, and frogs.
According to the Darby Daily News Instagram account, Monsee said, "We only got 21 likes and we have, like, 133 people watching now. We need to do better. If I reach 100 likes then I’m going to start cooking."
Police were tipped off about Monsee's account by an animal rights organization.
Someone from People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, or PETA, emailed police a tip about a woman posting live videos of the torture of animals.
Kristen Rickman, a PETA representative, told ABC 6 that "The best we can do is just to honor them by making sure this kind of behavior does not continue, and that more animals aren't made victims."
YouTube has terminated the woman's account.
Philadelphia's NBC 10 reported that Monsee's account was found to be in violation of YouTube content guidelines. In a statement to the news station, a representative from YouTube stated, "Content that is violent or abusive toward animals is not allowed on YouTube, and we have terminated the channel in question."
Monsee was being held on a $200,000 bond and is due to make her first appearance in court to face these charges on February 5, NBC 10 reported.
