Global Monkey Torture Ring Allegedly Tortures Baby Macaques Live on Camera: Investigation Says

A global monkey torture ring, centered in Indonesia with paying customers in the United Kingdom and the United States, has been exposed by a BBC investigation, it was reported on Wednesday, June 21.

The main victims are primates: baby long-tailed macaques, which are being abused, wounded, or killed live on camera. Their suffering is uploaded to different social media platforms and messaging channels, including YouTube and Telegram.

Based on the reported investigation, there is a widespread network of monkey torturers, haters, and sadists. The tortures themselves seem to be coming from the said Southeast Asian country. Transactions are made online where viewers pay just to see the animals suffer. Now, multiple people are being investigated worldwide, including a notorious suspect called "The Torture King."

Monkey Torture Ring

(Photo : Image by Christel SAGNIEZ from Pixabay)
A stock photo of a macaque monkey. A recent investigation reveals a widespread network of a monkey torture ring that tortures the animals live on camera and sell them online for paying viewers.

On Wednesday, the BBC exposed the global monkey torture gang stretching from Indonesia to the U.S. based on a year-long investigation. In particular, the BBC World Service has unraveled that there are hundreds of paying customers in the U.S., U.K, and other locations that pay Indonesians to torture and kill the long-tailed macaques on film recording.

The investigation adds the monkey torture ring started on YouTube as early as the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. It spread to other platforms like Telegram, an encrypted messaging application.

In the said online torture groups, BBC journalists went undercover only to find hundreds of people gather to propose "extreme torture ideas" and direct people in Indonesia and other countries in Asia to materialize their desires, according to the BBC.

Also Read: U.S. House Passes Anti-Animal Cruelty Bill

The Torture King

Amid the list of suspects, the 'Torture King' Mike McCartney is an alleged key video distributor in the U.S., as he was described in the videos, according to a report by the Daily Mail U.K. McCartney also told BBC journalists that it all started when he first joined a Telegram monkey torture group.

The BBC stated that McCartney was once a motorcycle gang member and served prison time before joining the global network. Aside from joining, the Torture King also reportedly managed multiple Telegram groups that involved some people distributing the videos, as cited by the U.K. media outlet.

Macaque Monkeys

Macaques (Macaca) include 23 monkey species that are native in Asia, as well as in Europe and North Africa. They are known for being the animals mostly used in biomedical research, including their role that led to the development of the polio vaccine.

One of these species includes the long-tailed macaques or crab-eating macaques (Macaca fascicularis). In Asia, they can be found from Burma to the Philippines, all the way down to Indochina, Malaysia, and Indonesia, according to the Animal Diversity Web.

In addition, they have a track record of being friendly to humans. Yet, they can be aggressive once triggered, just like other wild animals.