Actress Paolla Oliveira expressed emotion and outrage in a social media video over the death of community dog Orelha, attacked by teenagers in Florianópolis. The case sparked national outrage, with reactions from celebrities and politicians, and a court order to remove content identifying the underage suspects.
Dog Orelha, who had lived for about ten years as a community animal on Praia Brava in Florianópolis, Santa Catarina, was found with severe injuries in early January after attacks attributed to teenagers. He was rescued and taken to a veterinary clinic but did not survive the injuries and underwent euthanasia. Santa Catarina's Civil Police identified at least four underage suspects and opened an investigation, which also examines possible attempts to coerce witnesses.
On January 28, actress Paolla Oliveira recorded an emotional video on social media, crying as she protested the violence. "If teenagers have the courage to commit such an atrocity, with this coldness in killing, what kind of adults will these people be? They will be a danger to society," she said. Paolla added: "We cannot normalize the unacceptable. We cannot let this situation simply fade into oblivion".
The case gained international attention when actor Paul Wesley, from 'The Vampire Diaries', shared a post from the Santa Catarina government calling for "justice for Orelha". In politics, Deputy Nikolas Ferreira (PL-MG) criticized the Child and Adolescent Statute (ECA) and advocated reducing the age of criminal responsibility. "The left has always sided with the underage individual, even when he was a criminal," he stated in a video on X.
On the same date, Florianópolis' Juvenile Court ordered platforms like Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, and WhatsApp to remove posts and comments identifying the teenagers, preventing reposts. The incident mobilized protests in cities like Brasília, Rio de Janeiro, and São Paulo, and debates on penalties for animal cruelty.