KUALA LUMPUR: Netizens were left unamused with the action by Singapore-born actor Datuk Aaron Aziz who placed a huge python on top of a cat cage recently.
A screengrab of the live feed by the actor has been making its rounds on social media and caught the eye of the Malaysia Animal Association which condemned the act.
"The act of placing a python near a cat even in a cage can cause extreme fear to the cat considering that snakes and cats are two entities of predator and prey.
"As a result, cats will experience extreme stress and trauma because they feel threatened when they see and smell enemies nearby," it said in an Instagram post recently.
Netizens expressed anger at the actor, calling for empathy shown towards the felines.
"Where is the common sense? This is animal cruelty," said Instagram user bodyscrub_sophiesbeauty.
The actor denied that he placed the reptile on the cage, but instead the snake owner was told to put it there.
He uploaded a video explaining that he and the crew during the shooting were continuously monitoring the condition of the cats inside the cage, if the cats had acted strangely or were in distress.
"I had asked if it would endanger the cats, but the snake handler said the snake only eats rabbits and others similar animals.
"But we continued to monitor the cats and said we will not proceed with the shooting if the cats were in distress," he said.