A 32-year-old man from Carver, Minnesota, has been federally indicted on 16 counts of Animal Crushing after allegedly making nearly 350 videos depicting animals being tortured, mutilated, and killed, which he reportedly uploaded and monetized through his pay-per-view YouTube channels, according to a press release from the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Minnesota.
Federal prosecutors allege that beginning in 2022, Bryan Wesley Edison produced videos forcing animals — including small mammals, birds, reptiles, dogs, and turtles — into enclosures and staged scenarios, where they endured drawn-out torture and death through drowning, suffocation, impalement, disembowelment, or even being skinned alive.
In addition, Edison reportedly created multiple membership tiers ranging from $0.99 to $99.99 per month to access his videos, advertising that the most graphic content was reserved for paying customers and that the top level offered custom, subscriber-commissioned videos.
“Animal crushing is an appalling abuse of power over vulnerable creatures,” FBI Minneapolis Special Agent in Charge Alvin M. Winston Sr. said. “The exercise of violence over the defenseless is never acceptable. The FBI stands with our law enforcement partners to rigorously enforce the laws that prevent and punish such heinous acts of cruelty.”
Lady Freethinker has worked for years to end animal “crush” videos — organizing protests, collecting hundreds of thousands of petition signatures, and, in partnership with Action for Primates, exposing the insidious world of online monkey torture. Our findings also informed the BBC documentary “The Monkey Haters,” which brought this shocking cruelty to a global audience.
While we are grateful this alleged abuser is facing charges, the exploitation of animals for online amusement persists. LFT remains committed to exposing this brutality and protecting vulnerable beings everywhere.
