Outrage after YouTuber ties balloons to dog to make it 'fly'
A YouTuber has been arrested following a dangerous stunt which involved trying to make his pet dog "fly".
For the online video, Gaurav Sharma, 32, from the Indian capital of Delhi, attached several helium balloons to his pet dog named Dollar, allowing the pup to float in the air.
After letting the animal go, Sharma allows the dog to float high enough in the air that someone in a nearby apartment building is able to catch him.
Sharma has over four million subscribers on YouTube, where he is known as Gauravzone. He has since deleted the initial video after strong backlash.
He apologised for the stunt in another video, in which he said he took all safety measures when making the clip, The Independent reported.
"I apologise if you felt bad after watching the Dollar video. I won’t try such things again," he said.
"Those who are getting influenced by such things, please don’t get influenced. If sentiments have been hurt, I truly seek your apology.”
Tied a dog with helium balloons that flew to the third floor of a building what a shameful activity has done by this so called youtuber gauravzone aka Mr. Gaurav Sharma for fame, this incident could lead to death of his dog. #dogs .@PetaIndia #PETA pic.twitter.com/TLzYu244Vr
— namita singh (@namitas34481129) May 27, 2021
The stunt was labelled as "shameful" online and eventually led to Sharma getting arrested.
Animal welfare group People for Animals India said the act was "abuse", the group lodged a complaint against Sharma which reportedly led to his arrest.
Gaurav Gupta, from People for Animals said an apology from Sharma was "not enough".
"It is like saying you killed someone but you apologised so it’s alright. The dog could have had a heart attack, he could have died if the balloons burst," he told local media.
We hope people are going to learn from the lesson person Gaurav Sharma was taught.
And not everyone can be called an influencer so make sure whom you get INFLUENCED from. #petsarenottoys pic.twitter.com/WjqeuXLbkR— People For Animals India (@pfaindia) May 28, 2021
Gupta went on to say the animal rights group has evidence Sharma has done this before, saying now-deleted videos show "cruelty towards animals".
Though those videos have also been deleted, People for Animals allegedly has them and plans on lodging complaints about those videos as well.
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