15th June 2023 – Los Angeles, CA and London, UK – Animal advocacy groups Lady Freethinker and Action for Primates have welcomed action taken by US law enforcement into the shocking and perverted underworld of “monkey torture groups.”
A press release issued by United States Attorney’s Office, District of Oregon, noted, “David Christopher Noble, 48, has been charged with conspiring to engage in animal crushing and creating and distributing animal crush videos, creating animal crush videos, and illegally possessing a firearm as a dishonorably discharged person.”
According to a court document, Noble is alleged to have knowingly conspired with others to view, encourage, and fund animal crush videos as part of an online group using an encrypted chat application. As a group administrator, Noble paid for the creation of and celebrated videos depicting the torture, sexually-sadistic mutilation, and murder of adult and juvenile monkeys, according to the document.
Lady Freethinker and Action for Primates have been investigating the disturbing world of “Monkey Torture Groups” for years. Harrowing findings released by the animal groups in 2021 revealed a disturbing escalation of animal cruelty online, with YouTube and Facebook users based in the US having set up private online groups on platforms like Telegram and working with people in Indonesia to facilitate monkey torture videos.
The evidence uncovered — including videos and screenshots of chats from group members, who paid for baby monkeys to be abused, tortured, and killed while their terror and suffering was filmed for videos to be posted online — was handed over to U.S. law enforcement.
The active and vocal monkey hatred community on social media platforms mainly target long-tailed macaques in Southeast Asia, referring to the animals as “tree rats.” Some people moved from these social media platforms to set up their own private groups where members pay for torture to be filmed, exchange videos and information, and present suggestions as to what cruelty people would like to see inflicted, primarily upon infant monkeys. Shockingly, many of these videos have since been posted on social media platforms, including YouTube and Facebook, making them easily available for others, including children, to access and view.
Lady Freethinker and Action for Primates are calling on social media and video sharing platforms to take immediate action to stop the proliferation of animal torture content that is being posted online.
“I applaud law enforcement for taking action to stop the horrific torture inflicted on innocent monkeys for profit,” said Nina Jackel, founder of Lady Freethinker. “These videos, sold privately and also persistently shared on YouTube and other platforms, depict what is easily the worst animal cruelty I have seen in my years working for animal protection. The helpless baby macaques who suffered and died for these videos deserve justice.’’
Sarah Kite, co-founder of Action for Primates, added, ‘”We welcome the action taken by law enforcement. Filming the torture and killing of baby monkeys for ‘entertainment’ must never be tolerated. This action by law enforcement sends a clear message to those involved in these atrocities that there are consequences to their perverted and sadistic activities. We hope it will also cause social media platforms to start effectively monitoring and enforcing their own guidelines. Such cruelty is not the hallmark of a civilized society.’’
