Are you unknowingly sharing funny videos promoting animal cruelty?

On the internet, some of the most widely shared videos show animals behaving in funny ways, in some cases by acting like humans. But some of these videos hide suffering, which you are unwittingly promoting when you view and share these images.

If you look at the videos below, you’ll surely recognize at least one of them: a cat scared by a cucumber, a dog walking on his hind legs like a human, or a loris being tickled and raising his arms. They seem funny at first, but what’s actually behind these odd behaviours?

We asked Ruby Leslie, who is an animal welfare specialist and dog trainer based in China.