Video showing hikers pushing boar off cliff sparks ire on social networks

Seven hikers surround a boar. One of them pokes the animal with a stick. An eighth person on the scene records what’s happening with their cellphone. Finally, the group shoves the boar toward the vertical drop behind it, sending it tumbling down the hillside. The undated images have drawn harsh criticism since they appeared on the social networks, posted by a user named Marcos López Rúa, who claims that the incident took place on the Cares Route, in the Picos de Europa National Park. “That’s it,” the person who is recording the video is heard to say, having beforehand encouraged the group to push the animal over the side.

The Civil Guard has begun an investigation to find the identity of the people who appear in the video, with a view to questioning them.

“Shocking, shameful images that prompt indignation toward the individuals who, without a shred of empathy, push a boar off a cliff in Asturias,” reads a tweet from animal rights group Pacma. “While we would like to report the facts due to the clear animal abuse, the Penal Code does not protect wild animals,” the message continues.

“There are bastards everywhere, in the rural world and in the city, here I leave you a clear example of the disregard there is for wildlife,” wrote Marcos López Rúa in the Facebook post where he shared the video. “I hope that they find these morons and at least they hang their heads in shame, because legally speaking I’m sure that very little will happen to them.”