Action for Primates is calling on YouTube to stop allowing content that promotes animal abuse and cruelty for 'entertainment' purposes on its platform; in particular, videos depicting the tormenting and cruel treatment of monkeys.
One channel which has come under specific scrutiny is 'Captive Baby Monkeys', which encourages cruelty and violence against baby monkeys. Other users post comments encouraging more cruelty.
Another YouTube poster, called 'Monkey Raging', has posted a series of sickening videos in which he is abusing and mistreating captive monkeys, while asking people to send donations. Unfortunately, people are posting supporting comments with suggestions of further cruel things that can be done.
A third YouTube channel, 'Kill baby monkeys', does not have video uploads, but creates playlists of videos depicting injured, abused or dying monkeys.
Despite You Tube having what appears to be a policy with regards to what content is not acceptable, and the grounds on which a complaint can be made, submitting a complaint is not straightforward and YouTube has continued to allow shocking footage to remain. By permitting such content on their platform, YouTube is complicit in promoting animal cruelty and abuse. And, by not monitoring and enforcing its own policy, viewers could be encouraged to inflict deliberate acts of cruelty on other animals.
Asia for Animals Coalition, a global network of hundreds of animal welfare and conservation organisations (including Action for Primates), has submitted an open letter to Chief Executive Officer, Ms Susan Wojcicki. It is calling on YouTube to implement a robust mechanism for reporting and removing animal abuse content that has been uploaded to its site, specifically content that glorifies animal abuse and cruelty.
These videos are sickening. No responsible video-sharing platform should tolerate animal cruelty in the guise of entertainment. We call on YouTube to immediately take action to remove these despicable monkey cruelty channels and videos and to implement and enforce its animal cruelty policy.
