Cats, guinea pigs, rabbits, dogs and albino mice – these are a number of the animals tortured and killed in Bulgaria as a part of a fetish practice often called ‘crush fetish.’
Footage of pets being subjected to unimaginable suffering, including being tied up, stabbed and mutilated, was uncovered on online platforms.
Gabriela Sashova, 26 and Krasimir Georgiev, 34, have been identified because the masterminds behind the operation.
They’re understood to have raked in tens hundreds of kilos by filming the torture of the animals and selling it online.
Their customers were charged between £40 to £600, depending on the pet involved, and even advertised ‘Black Friday’ discounts.
Police consider the videos are linked to ‘crush fetish,’ wherein people derive sexual gratification from watching living beings being tortured, mutilated, and crushed to death.
Sashova carried out the abuse in rented rooms within the Bulgarian capital of Sofia, while her accomplice, Georgiev, filmed it.
Among the videos reveal them forcing animals into gruesome positions, including tying cats to leashes and running them over with vehicles.
Bulgarian media reported that their operation has been ongoing for years, with police finally carrying out an investigation after multiple complaints.
Authorities eventually discovered a pc and a smartphone holding gigabytes of footage of atrocities committed on animals.
Sashova and Georgiev have since been arrested and charged with money laundering, criminal conspiracy, and cruelty towards animals.
(Picture: BTA / Blagoi Kirilov)
Petya Altimirska, chairwoman of the association ‘Campaigns and Activism for Animals in Industry’, which has filed a report with the Bulgarian Animal Protection Agency, told FACTI that hours of recordings were found.
She said: ‘The clips feature different animals, dozens of animals. It turned out that she also has a price list on her Telegram channel, wherein she described what number of animals, what clips she will be able to make, and thus gives people the chance to order what they wish to occur to the animals.
‘As well as, for Black Friday in November, she had made a promotion on her channel.’
The case has sparked mass public outrage, resulting in protests in Sofia demanding harsher punishments for animal abusers and far stricter regulations on online platforms hosting such content.
Demonstrators gathered outside the Palace of Justice before marching to the National Assembly, where they chanted ‘We wish a functioning police’ and ‘Jail them for all times.’
One other protest was also held in town of Pernik, about 20 miles from the capital, where the case is being heard.
The 2 detainees could receive as much as eight years in prison if the fees are proven.
But their lawyers insist there isn’t a direct evidence that they’ve received payment for the footage.
It shouldn’t be yet known when the trial to be.
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