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Warning: This article includes details readers may find distressing
A YouTuber who has more than two million followers has been arrested after he allegedly skinned, cooked, and ate a stray dog in what he claimed was a protest against soaring livestock prices.
Ayoub Ben Nesnes, who is a 26-year-old Moroccan YouTuber known online as Ben Nesnes, was detained in the city of Martil after a video uploaded to his channel triggered outrage across the country.
In the footage, it reportedly showed Nesnes presenting the animal before roasting and consuming the meat.
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Reports go on to suggest that the video amassed over 200,000 views before it was removed from YouTube.
Following the backlash, the content creator claimed that the stunt was intended as a statement about the increasing cost of sheep during Eid al-Adha, which is a religious holiday during which many Muslims traditionally sacrifice livestock.
In another clip, Nesnes claimed that he had not killed the dog and instead said that the animal had died after being hit by a vehicle.
The video reportedly said: “The dog that appeared in the video - I didn’t kill it. I found it dead on the side of the road after it was hit in a traffic accident. I didn’t kill it, so stop saying that I did. Everything is documented, and there’s proof.”
However, Nesnes has since been arrested after authorities issued a warrant, as per The Telegraph.
Now, he is facing charges which include animal cruelty and insulting Islam, and is reportedly being held in custody at El Arjat prison, near the city of Rabat, while legal proceedings continue.
Speaking to local press, one animal rights advocate called for Nesnes’ channel to be ‘taken down’, adding: “He must face the appropriate punishment to serve as a lesson to anyone who abuses animals, let this man be a lesson.”
Meanwhile, China’s highly controversial Yulin Lychee and Dog Meat Festival is expected to go ahead next week.
The event, which was initially established in 2010, is held every year during the summer solstice and is heavily protested against, with many describing the festival as cruel.
Vendors have claimed that the dogs are killed humanely but, according to a report by the BBC, the animals ‘are killed brutally and publicly, and are sometimes beaten to death or cooked while still alive’.
The 10-day festival will begin on Sunday (June 21).
