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bosnian animal abuse girlTwo days ago, a young blonde Bosnian girl was depicted in a YouTube video tossing several puppies into a river. You can watch the footage at Liveleak, but please be warned that it is VERY SAD and VERY GRAPHIC. OK, I warned you: Here's the link.

Over the last 48 hours, users of the infamous image board known as 4chan have tried to figure out where the girl was from. The hive mind was quickly able to find out some personal information about the girl in the video, which I won't post here for obvious reasons. 4chan is pretty good at finding people's online personae, and from there, they're often able to determine where people live, their relatives and more. Remember the story about the woman who threw the cat into a garbage bin? The same investigatory tactics are at work here. In this case they were able to find out the location of the guy who uploaded the original video.

Since then, a YouTube user claiming to be the girl in the video has issued an apology.


I grew up in farm country. I know what it's like to have to mercy-kill animals. I remember having to take out an injured mouse with a shovel and it nearly brought me to tears. I certainly wasn't smiling or joking around about it. Yet, this defense is plausible. She could be a farm girl who is used to killing injured or sick animals on a regular basis. She could be desensitized to the experience.

Throwing them in the river is surely more pleasant than any alternatives that I can imagine. I've heard of people drowning cats in a bucket of water by holding them down till they stop thrashing. Surely this girl's method is easier for the girl and possibly no more abusive for the animal. I can't imagine they would have lasted very long in the river. I guess what I'm saying is that it would be a different story if the girl was actually torturing the puppies rather than just killing them. Yes, her giggling demeanor creeps me the heck out, but let's not turn her into a target, especially not until we give her a chance to explain herself.

Meanwhile a message on a gaming forum, translated on Reddit, purportedly from the offender's brother, makes it sound like the puppies were from a diseased stray.

I know you will not like this message, but I had to do it in order to keep discipline in my courtyard. Some dog gave birth in my courtyard, as you know it carries million of diseases, and in order to keep my own health and health of others, I threw them in the river. My parents and neighbors advised me to do that. I have uploaded a video on youtube and sent the link to "bug forum" and they pasted that on 4chan. Reactions varied: from the strangers and from the local lunatics, they wanted to f--- me up... I could never imagine and could not believe reaction of those people. After that, they tried to find my personal information, fortunately for me they were unsuccessful. They threatened they would find me and kill me, it just does not make sense.
It appears that 4chan has discovered a girl that fits the perp's description (not the girl who issued the video apology) who has deleted her Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, MySpace and Formspring accounts recently, leading many to believe that it's the girl from the video, doing exactly what any sane person would do when confronted with online vigilantism.

While 4chan users have been able to track down some folks who really deserved some jail time, it often roils with misguided, sanctimonious rage. Most of these people are nerdy teenagers who crave the sense of triumph that comes with putting someone in his or her place. Obviously, the problem with internet vigilantism is that the mob is so far removed from the perpetrator's circumstances that they shoot first and ask questions later.

At least 500 people want to see her dead, according to a repulsive Facebook group that is inexplicably still active. Meanwhile PETA and Michael Bay are both offering monetary rewards for the identification of the girl, which will likely do little to quicken the hunt. If history tells us anything, 4chan will find her "for great justice."

UPDATE: The Bosnian police have found her.