A disturbing video of young people abusing a large carp for fun outside the Belgian city of Ghent has sparked outrage from web users, and led to reports of animal cruelty.
Belgium has experienced an intense heat wave in recent days, with many citizens escaping to lakes and streams to cool off. On Saturday, an estimated 10,000 people descended on Blaarmeersen, a recreational area not far from Ghent where a video shared on TikTok sparked outrage among social media users and drew police attention.
The video shows a group of laughing young people lifting a large carp and sliding it down a slide. Right now, it is still not known if these images were filmed on Friday or Saturday, but the police are trying to identify those responsible for this act which was described as “animal abuse” in a report.
On Saturday, a number of altercations and disorderly behavior led the police to shut down the recreation area at 3:30 p.m., La Dernière Heure reports.
According to the ACV police union, lifeguards had to take refuge in a nearby tower after being attacked by visitors when they decided to close one of the slides due to a lack of staff for supervision.
Numerous other incidents at swimming pools and lakes occurred in Europe over the weekend as temperatures broke records, including a massive migrant brawl at a swimming pool in Berlin and hundreds of people breaking into swimming pools in France, causing widespread damage and a large police response.
Just last week, Italian towns near Lake Garda experienced a “day of war” when 2,000 migrants descended on the area, beating people, robbing visitors, and sexually assaulting a number of teen girls.
