WARNING: Graphic content

LANGLEY (NEWS 1130) – The owner of a Langley barbershop is attempting to do some damage control as photos of suspected kitten abuse are shared widely on social media.

The photos appear to be screen grabs of a video posted on Edir Bajo’s Snapchat account. In them, a small cat is seen with a hand around its neck. Some appear to show the kitten being lifted up by the neck and having its tail pulled.

Another screen grab apparently shows a text conversation where Bajo is confronted about the images and responds with “I paid for it” and “Animals lives don’t matter”.

The BC SPCA has been contacted many times about the images, and Chief Prevention and Enforcement officer Marcie Moriarty says a constable has been assigned to investigate.

She adds that they have been unable to find Bajo to question him because the torrent of online backlash appears to have “driven him underground”.

As of Tuesday afternoon, the main phone line for Bajo Haircuts seems to have been disconnected, and the business’ Yelp page has been taken over by one-star reviews accusing the owner of being an “animal abuser” and a “horrible human being”.

Bajo has responded to the backlash with a one-minute apology video on his Instagram account.

Cat Lives Matter ?????????#sorry A video posted by Edir Bajo (@e_scobar) on Feb 6, 2017 at 8:33pm PST

“I never meant it, I apologize for all that stuff. I never meant to hurt the cat,” he says before pledging 20 per cent of his February profits to a “cat organization”.

“It was just pictures taken at the wrong time and everybody believed it… you can’t believe everything you see on the Internet.”