EXCLUSIVE
A dance teacher and qualified childcare worker has been unmasked as the young woman who threw a dead kitten onto the water in front of a horrified crowd.
Gracie Giblin, 21, was filmed on Tuesday night at Port Lincoln Wharf on South Australia’s Eyre Peninsula swinging the tiny tabby cat by the tail before laughing loudly and hurling it into the ocean.
But shocked eyewitnesses claim the incident wasn’t a one off and that Giblin also threw a deceased rabbit into the water moments earlier.
‘She was doing laps around the wharf in her car and she had a bunny in a Woolies bag and I thought it was alive at first,’ local teenager Scarlett told Daily Mail Australia.
‘She was swinging it around and laughing and said she had run it over earlier and then just threw it in.’
Giblin drove off only to return minutes later to boast about a second animal that she had hit with her car, Scarlett claimed.
‘She drove back yelling out the window, ‘We hit a cat, we hit a cat,’ and then she swaps places with her friend and gets in the passenger seat and she says they are going to get it.
‘I was worried and my friends and I decided to look for it but before we had chance she came back hanging it out of the window and swing it around by its tail.
Gracie Giblin (pictured) was filmed on Tuesday night at Port Lincoln Wharf swinging the tiny tabby cat by the tail before laughing loudly and hurling it into the ocean.
Gracie Giblin laughed as she drove around with the dead kitten, according to witnesses
The young dance teacher is under investigation over the incident
‘It was just a kitten and she was laughing about it.
‘I was just thinking, what kind of person does this. It’s disrespectful and we were absolutely horrified.
‘Some kids were laughing and videoing and she thought it was so funny, so we called the police.’
Scarlett claimed that Giblin had left the scene by the time the police arrived.
She and other witnesses gave statements to police and handed over footage of the incident.
Scarlett claimed she knew Giblin from a local dance class and is haunted by her cruel actions which she says were vastly different from their last encounter.
‘She was always had a big smile on her face and was so lovely,’ she said.
‘I felt so upset by what I had seen that when I got home I spoke to my dad. The kitten was tabby and we have a tabby cat and I just couldn’t forget it.’
Videos of the incident soon spread in the close-knit town, prompting Making a Difference Cat Rescue staff to head to the wharf.
Armed with a torch, two volunteers discovered the ‘traumatising’ sight of a kitten and the baby rabbit floating in the harbour.
The kitten was filmed being hurled into the water at Port Lincoln Wharf
Gracie Giblin (pictured) is a dance teacher and qualified childcare worker
‘We couldn’t just leave them there so we went to find them and we managed to retrieve the bodies,’ volunteer rescuer Amanda told Daily Mail Australia.
‘They were both still warm and very floppy. The bunny was very young, smaller than the kitten and it was just so awful to see.
‘We decided to name them, Annabelle for the rabbit and Dillon for the little kitten which means ray of hope.’
The deceased animals have been handed to authorities who are now investigating the alleged incident, which has sparked public outrage.
‘RSPCA SA received a report [on Wednesday] morning about an incident alleged to have occurred in Port Lincoln involving a cat and a rabbit, both deceased,’ spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia.
‘No further comment will be made while investigations are ongoing.’
South Australia Police also confirmed it’s aware of the incident.
Police are liaising with the RSPCA regarding any offences that may have occurred
‘Following an investigation police attended at a Port Lincoln address and spoke with a 21-year-old woman,’ a spokesperson said.
‘She was taken to hospital for an assessment.
‘Police are liaising with the RSPCA regarding any alleged offences that may have occurred, and investigations are continuing.’
The video was initially posted on a community Facebook group but has since been deleted.
The group said in a statement that it had been in contact with the woman’s parents and ‘that direct and decisive action’ was taken.
The group added that it appreciated that members were outraged but asked them to refrain from posting as police and mental health services carried out their investigations.
The woman’s mother also commented on the post to defend her daughter’s actions while admitting the footage was confronting to watch.
‘It was also not easy for the person going through a mental health crisis,’ the mother wrote.
Furious Aussies who watched the horrifying footage online swiftly condemned the woman’s actions.
‘I find this rather sickeningly downright cruel in every aspect!’ one viewer wrote.
‘Those poor innocent and defenceless creatures.’
Another added: ‘This is extremely upsetting. That poor kitten that was just a baby and that poor rabbit.’
The confronting footage sparked outrage from horrified Aussies
RSPCA SA has said it received a report on Wednesday about an incident alleged to have occurred at Port Lincoln (pictured) involving a dead cat and a rabbit
Others took aim at onlookers who appeared to stand by and watch without intervening.
‘The people filming should be punished also for condoning that!! Absolute grubs!’ one viewer wrote.
Another added: ‘I think the people recording and standing around in a circle not doing anything should be questioned.’
Giblin has since gone into hiding, removing herself from social media.
