There's nothing cute about it. The animal stars of viral videos are being abused | Chas Newkey-Burden

In our millions we coo over wide-eyed exotic creatures and dogs in teacups - and bear witness to a new era of online animal crueltyIt's the sort of viral video that makes you coo. A sweet little creature called a slow loris performs a funny trick. Over and over, a human tickles it. Each time, it instantly raises its arms. How adorable. You watch the video, feel gooey inside, and share it with your friends. But what if you knew that the animal in the video was actually terrified? That it's raising its arms in self-defence because it hates being tickled, and slow lorises have poisonous glands under their armpits - but it won't be able to defend itself, because its teeth have been clipped out. Related: Chimps are cute. They're funny. And viral videos can harm them Continue reading...