'Distressing' footage of monkeys being tortured shared on social media
"Distressing" footage of monkeys being tortured and mistreated are increasingly starting to take over social media platforms, campaigners have warned.
Researchers have pointed out content creators are making money through "shocking" abuse videos with the use of macaques on platforms including Facebook, YouTube, TikTok and Instagram.
Asia for Animals’ Social Media Animal Cruelty Coalition (SMACC), which is made up of 20 animal protection groups, has revealed the content ranges from seemingly innocent videos such as fancy dress, to more alarming content featuring animals being chained and dismembered. Creators can accumulate money through the use of adverts or by asking the audience for funds for pretend "veterinary costs." In some cases, the content can be shaped in the form of fake rescue videos, such as becoming trapped inside a jar.
The researched revealed that users are calling the content 'cute' (Asia for Animals Coalition)The collaborators raised the alarm over sexual abuse videos and animals being plunged into freezing or boiling water. They further added that so-called bathing videos have proven to gain "likes", despite the animal screaming whilst trying to escape the water. The report, called The Cruelty you Don’t See: The Suffering of Pet Macaques for Social Media Content, highlighted that social media platforms often direct people to their policies when they are approached with evidence. However, they said the issue is getting worse.
It comes as the UK government recently announced that cruelty would be included in the Online Safety Bill. The law will force platforms to remove content or be hit with fines of up to £18m.
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Research conducted between September 2021 and March 2023, found 1226 content links which showed the macaques being kept as pets, with the top three platforms being named as Facebook (60%), YouTube (24%), and TikTok (13%). The study highlighted that the videos collectively reached over 12 billion views.
The research found:
- 13% of the content features deliberate psychological torture
- 12% showed macaques being physically tortured, including being beaten and burnt alive
More than 80% of macaques spotted in this content belong to species listed as vulnerable or endangered by the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
Lauren Arnaud James, Coordinator at SMACC, highlighted Monkey Hatred content to be the most "shocking" footage found on platforms. She told The Mirror: "A community of macaque abusers share content where macaques are tortured and killed in horrific ways, from being burned, dismembered alive or blended alive, impaled by glowing hot metal rods, drilled or skinned alive. The brutality of these videos has been extremely difficult for us all to see. Since December 2022, we have been escalating these videos urgently to Meta (who owns Facebook and Instagram) to remove such content from their platform."
Several videos showed monkeys being crammed in cages across platforms (Asia for Animals Coalition)Lauren said they would like to see social media platforms collaborating with the authorities and government to find and prosecute abusers. She continued: "We know that authorities and social media platforms don't always consider animal abuse as a priority, especially when many are faced with other issues such as hate crimes, terrorism, etc and are sometimes stretched in terms of resources or capacity.
"However, we know that animal abuse and human violence are closely linked and we also know how detrimental violent content can be to mental health, so we strongly believe that such content needs to be addressed urgently, for the safety of all, humans and animals." On top of collaborating with authorities, social media platforms need to take responsibility, implement stronger policies for animals, and ensure that these policies are moderated effectively."
Brit Jill Robinson, CEO and Founder of Animals Asia, highlighted the "relentless abuse" and told The Mirror: “As we confront the dark corners of online wildlife abuse, this report serves as a stark reminder that the internet remains a battleground for fighting cruelty and exploitation. Let us unite and work together, sparing no effort to end the horror of online animal abuse, and pave the way for a compassionate and just digital world for all living beings."
Researchers want the platforms to take further action on the users committing the offence (Asia for Animals Coalition)TikTok previously created an Animal Welfare Safety Center page with the support of SMACC this year. The resource is used to educate users on the platforms animal welfare policies. The platform recently updated its community guidelines.
A YouTube spokesperson told us: "Content depicting violence or abuse towards animals has no place on YouTube. Upon review, we removed content and terminated several channels for violating our Community Guidelines. "
A Meta spokesperson told the Independent : “We don’t allow the promotion of animal abuse on our platforms and we remove this content when we become aware of it. We will investigate any violating links shared with us and encourage users to report this content to us using the tools on our platforms, so our teams can investigate and take action.”
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