MrBeast, the world’s most-subscribed YouTuber with more than 450 million followers, has stirred controversy with his latest video showing him shooting vaccine darts at wild giraffes from a helicopter as part of a wildlife vaccination mission.
The footage, which appears to show the creator firing at animals in the wild, has ignited debate online. While some viewers praised it as an innovative use of his wealth and platform, others criticized the video for looking cruel or insensitive.
According to the Free Press Journal, the uproar began after MrBeast shared the clip on social media. In his caption, he wrote that “delivering life-saving medicine to 70 giraffes in the wild was strangely fun.”
In the video, MrBeast can be seen enthusiastically firing a high-powered air rifle loaded with vaccine darts at fleeing giraffes from a helicopter. Though the imagery drew criticism, the shots were part of a legitimate conservation practice known as remote darting, a veterinary technique used to safely administer medication or vaccines to wildlife from a distance.
In this case, the darts reportedly contained drugs to protect giraffes against deadly diseases such as anthrax and botulism. The video shows MrBeast first attempting to dart the animals from the ground, but when they ran off, he took to the skies, at one point cheering, “I hit one on the first try!” as a dart successfully struck its target.
The footage also shows MrBeast’s friends participating, pursuing giraffes and firing additional darts over several minutes.
As of Wednesday, the full video, titled “I Saved 1,000 Animals from Dying”, has already amassed more than 53 million views on MrBeast’s YouTube channel.
Viewer reactions have been sharply divided. Supporters called it a beautiful video for wildlife and the right way to spend money, while critics accused him of turning wild animals into entertainment.
Animal rights organizations have also voiced concerns about the growing trend of influencers featuring wildlife in their content, warning that such videos may promote unsafe or misleading interactions with animals.
