The ruler of Dubai on Wednesday ordered three men accused of feeding a cat alive to two dogs and filming it to clean the city’s zoo for three months.
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum ordered “those detained for torturing the cat to perform community service by cleaning the Dubai zoo for four hours a day for three months,” a government statement said.
It is not clear if the men will also face prosecution. A recently enacted law on animal cruelty stipulates punishment of up to a year in prison or a fine of up to 200,000 dirhams ($54,500).
Emirati newspapers said a Gulf citizen and two Asians had been arrested over the video, which was widely shared on social media.
The video showed a man offering the cat in an open cage to two Rottweilers, encouraging them to devour the terrified feline as punishment for its having eating birds.
“You eat pigeons and chickens?” a man is heard saying to the cat, as it is being mauled by one of the dogs. “Eat the cat, eat it,” he orders.
A picture released by the government showed three men in blue overalls sweeping a path in the Dubai zoo, but it was not clear if they were the accused.
“The crime committed by those negligent men contradicts basic human norms,” the government statement said.
{{/usCountry}}“The crime committed by those negligent men contradicts basic human norms,” the government statement said.
{{/usCountry}}“The cruelty demonstrated in this barbaric act violates our values and the principles of our religion which tell us to be humane with animals,” it added.