The founder of a Kent based animal charity has been "hounded" by online trolls, one even threatening to burn chimpanzees she rescued and feed them to tigers, after she exposed a big cat loving Instagram star who was filmed punching a prized lion cub.

Dean Schneider, who has been likened to Netflix anti-hero Joe Exotic and has seven million followers on the social media platform, has been widely criticised since Gabo Wildlife circulated the close-up clip and is now under investigation for cruelty.

In retaliation, two days ago Mr Schneider, who operates from an 890-acre reserve in South Africa and also keeps giraffes, leopards and zebras, called out 'haters' who circulated the clip and, he claims, didn't give the full picture of what happened.

Since then, Carly Åhlén, whose charity published the clip online, has been inundated with cruel messages on social media.

Canterbury-born Miss Åhlén, 40, said: "They tell me I am lying and I'm jealous and I just want attention. I don't want attention, I used to be an actress in Greece but I gave that all up.

"He's brainwashed them. They all have been made to believe that hitting a cub is part of a normal reaction. "

Miss Åhlén is also working with charity Wild@Life.e.V, based in Angola, to rescue chimpanzees from the wildlife trade.

One of Mr Schneider's fans commented on the charity's YouTube videos, threatening to burn the chimpanzees and feed them to tigers.

She has even been likened to Carole Baskin, Joe Exotic's nemesis in the documentary, who is intent on bringing his zoo down.

She has been forced to turn the comment option off on the charity's YouTube videos and bring in tighter security measures on her social media.

Miss Åhlén said previously: "The lions he has are captive, they are not free and hold no conservation value at all, he is exploiting wildlife for fame and had been trying to get famous for years."

She told Kent Online today: "I just wanted to get the message out there. I don't hate him, I just think he should do something better with his time."

'I don't hate him, I just think he should do something better with his time...'

In the now viral clip, the 27-year-old Swiss financier rains down blows after a cub catches him with a claw. The video then abruptly cuts out.

A spokesman for Mr Schneider told The Times he was often in close contact with the cubs and “needs to communicate his boundaries”.

He added: “Dean has a deep love for his animals and wildlife in general, and would never use unnecessary force of any kind.”

Escaped animals, unusual finds and news from the RSPCA can all be found here.

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