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The Urban Legend Zeitgeist debated calling Bonsai Kitten a spoof rather than a hoax, since a spoof implies some attempt at humor. But, judging by the controversy that Bonsai Kitten has stirred up, many people don't find it funny at all.
Since the Urban Legend Zeitgeist has had its sense of humor surgically removed (don't ask, it was part of the job requirements), we aren't qualified to judge whether Bonsai Kitten succeeds as humor, other than noting that shock humor is not exactly a new phenomena.
Even though some animal welfare groups recognized that Bonsai Kitten is a hoax (or spoof or satire or whatever), they still argue that the Internet would be a better place without Bonsai Kitten. They argue that Bonsai Kitten glamorizes or trivializes animal cruelty and should be shut down. Maybe we're just hardened skeptics, but we doubt that eliminating Bonsai Kitten will do much to decrease animal cruelty. We also wonder if the time and energies of these groups would be better directed towards other ends.
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Urban Legend Zeitgeist: Bonsai Kittens Hoax