Ginger Owl boutique cactus Swanbourne Perth: Thieves kick Instagram-famous plant
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Bizarre moment thugs kick down an Insta-famous cactus one year after a machete-wielding thief also took off with a piece
- A famous cactus widely featured in social media photos has been vandalised
- Two thieves in CCTV footage are seen kicking the arm of the cactus and taking it
- The cactus was vandalised last year when a man cut off a branch with a machete
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An Instagram-famous cactus has been torn apart and stolen by two young hoodlums one year after a similar act of vandalism.
The three-year-old Peruvian apple cactus, which sits outside Ginger Owl boutique in the coastal suburb of Swanbourne in Perth, had one arm hacked off on Saturday night.
The cactus was widely renowned for being a backdrop for photos taken by social media influencers, bloggers, tourists and even newlyweds.
A famous cactus seen in photos taken by influencers and tourists on social media has been kicked apart by vandals
The hoodlums are seen on CCTV footage outside the Ginger Owl boutique in Swanbourne kicking the arm of the cactus and running off with it
Police are now on the hunt for the two thieves who were caught on CCTV footage kicking the cactus and then running off with the arm of the plant.
Ginger Owl boutique employee Mieli Smith, who spent years growing the cactus outside the shop, expressed her dismay over the vandalism.
‘They just destroyed it like it was pretty much nothing. They left chunks and pieces along the floor. It was just everywhere, it was a hot mess,’ she told 9News.
‘We have a full arm of the cactus gone, which is three-to-four metres high and that has taken over three years to grow.’
Staff also expressed their anger on the destruction and theft of the beloved plant on the boutique’s Instagram page.
‘Our beautiful cactus has been targeted again… one year on but this time it’s worst,’ the boutique said in a statement.
‘Two low life arseholes decided to hack, steal and vandalise our beautiful plant just after midnight last night.’
Ginger Owl boutique employee Mieli Smith, who spent years growing the cactus, expressed her sadness over the vandalism
The Ginger Owl boutique released a statement on social media slamming the ‘low life arseholes’ who hacked and stole the plant before asking their followers to help identify the vandals
The Ginger Owl said the cactus has ‘become iconic’ and gets love and attention from influencers, bloggers and visitors to the shop
The cactus was planted outside the shop three years ago and was barely one metre tall. It has since quadrupled in size.
‘This cactus has become iconic. The love and attention it gets is unbelievable. It was the perfect back drop & specimen,’ the post continued.
‘We need to protect this beautiful plant and stop these low life’s from thinking they can hack an arm or two off it..’
The Ginger Owl concluded the post by asking their followers if they were able to identify the thieves.
Police are investigating the destruction and theft of the cactus arm.
It is not the first time the cactus has been vandalised by a member of the public.
A man with a machete hacked a branch off the cactus in July last year.
He was seen on the same CCTV camera approaching the cactus, cutting off the branch and fleeing the area with it.