Hasan Piker, the popular Twitch streamer and a political commentator has now responded to the backlash and criticism over the allegations that he used a shock collar on his dog, Kaya during a livestream. The controversy started after a clip a went viral in which Kaya was seen yelping. This prompted a speculation that Piker activate a shock collar when the camera as off. In a rather sarcastic tone, Piker said, “Yes, I am incredibly abusive… to the not only best trained, but also the best behaving and most spoiled dog on the planet. However, he later clarified that Kaya had yelped due to an accident. He said that the Kaya accidentally clipped herself while getting off from the bed and that is the reason for the yelping and not the shock collar.

PETA weighs in

The viral backlash and criticism drew attention from PETA. The animal rights protection organisation issued a statement to The Hollywood Reporter and said, “Hasan Piker has denied using a shock collar on his dog, and we hope that’s true because shock collars are dangerous and downright cruel.Along with this, PETA also stressed on the fact that devices like a shock collar can cause burn wounds, displaced aggression and chronic anxiety. Instead of the extreme methods the organisation advise positive reinforcement training.

Online speculation and streamer drama

Although Piker has dined the use of a shock collar on his dog, the critics still zoomed in on the now viral footage and pointed to a green blinking light on Kaya’s collar. This is an alleged characteristic of shock collars. Some also resurfaced an old clip where Piker described owning one as “incredibly effective,” fueling further skepticism. Fellow streamers joined the fray. Ethan Klein, a longtime rival, called the incident “horrifying animal cruelty,” while xQc accused Piker of “gaslighting” his audience.