British members of monkey torture group sentenced to prison

(c) J McArthur, BFF

Born Free is deeply saddened by the development of a shocking and disturbing case of extreme animal cruelty. Holly Le Gresley, 37, and Adrianna Orme, 56, were charged with the production, viewing and distribution of sickening videos showing baby macaques being “tortured on order” following an extensive investigation of nearly 20 people. throughout Indonesia, the United States and the United Kingdom.

Le Gresley admitted to uploading 22 photos and 132 videos showing monkeys being tortured. Orme was accused of posting an image and 26 videos depicting monkey torture to chat groups in 2022. The two women pleaded guilty to the charges earlier this year.

Le Gresley was sentenced to two years in prison and Orme to 15 months.

The group was coordinated in the United States and reportedly shared nearly 3,000 photos and videos featuring monkey torture. Its leaders have already been sentenced to prison terms ranging from 3 to 5 years in the United States. The creators of the videos in Indonesia were also convicted and sentenced to prison.

The judge presiding over the sentencing hearing reportedly described the British women’s actions as ‘incomprehensible to the majority of society’. Chief Inspector Kevin Lacks-Kelly, head of the UK’s National Wildlife Crime Squad, was quoted as saying the case was the worst he had encountered in his 22 years in the civil service.

Responding to the news, Born Free’s Head of Policy Dr. Mark Jones said: “As a vet, the idea of ​​people torturing animals is appalling to me. What makes it even more sickening is that they do this in a pre-planned and coordinated manner to create videos to be distributed online for their own and others’ satisfaction and to profit financially. Anyone who processes, commissions or knowingly distributes such material must be clearly immoral. “We hope the prison sentences will make others think twice, but given the extremely disturbing circumstances the prison sentences could and probably should have been longer.”

Detective Chief Inspector Ben Arrowsmith, who led the West Mercia Police investigation, was quoted as saying: “This is the first time in British legal history that charges of animal cruelty have been brought under the Serious Crime Act 2007, in relation to cruelty abroad but the fact that the offenders are in the UK makes this a turning point.” makes it a point.”

The production and distribution of animal cruelty content online has increased significantly in recent years. Although it involves different species of animals, baby macaques, puppies and kittens are commonly exploited for this purpose.

Animal cruelty-related content is distributed not only on the dark web, but also on widely used social media networks that are easily accessible, including by children. Such content often features baby macaques taken from their parents at a very young age, sometimes just a few days old, and sold in the pet trade. Parents and family members are often killed to obtain babies, which are then sold in the pet trade.

investigations Social Media Animal Cruelty CoalitionThe organization, of which Born Free is a member, brings together organizations to understand, address and end the spread of animal cruelty content on social media platforms. Between September, 1,226 examples of content depicting pet macaques appeared on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube. determined. 2021 and March 2023, 60% of which involved direct physical abuse of animals, with some suffering life-changing injuries and even death. Coalition member Action for Primates was heavily involved in the investigations that led to the recent conviction in Britain and was highly praised by the judge.

Dr Jones continued: “This was a horrific case but by no means an isolated one. Thousands of macaques and other primates, along with many other species, are being cruelly captured from the wild or bred in captivity, shipped around the world and often found to be completely unfit.” What we have learned in recent years is that some of these animals are subjected to serious abuse and even torture, and that this is increasingly being recorded and disseminated on social media, often for financial gain. “I think we started drawing.”

Online content ranges from seemingly ‘innocent’ depiction of animals dressed up or performing unnatural tricks, to violent and graphic torture. In some cases, animals are portrayed as ‘victims’ in fake staged ‘rescues’ to generate sympathy and financial donations.

Those who engage with animal cruelty content may also be more likely to commit acts of violence and cruelty towards other people, as links between animal cruelty and abusive behavior towards humans are also well established.

While the production and distribution of animal cruelty content can occur anywhere in the world, monkey torture appears to be primarily centered in Asia.

This issue was revealed in the BBC World Service documentary titled ‘ ‘.monkey haters‘ was published in June 2023, following a two-year investigation into the torture of monkeys on order in Indonesia to please people in online groups operating in the US and Europe.

In a separate case, Liverpool man Peter Stanley was sentenced to 20 months in prison in September for distributing videos showing the torture of baby monkeys in a disturbing private Facebook group.

Dr Jones concluded: “At Born Free, we call on governments to introduce and enforce laws that will protect primates and other wild animals from pet trafficking and online exploitation. Here in the UK, we were heavily involved in the successful campaign to ensure that animal cruelty content was included in the list of priority offenses under the Online Safety Act, which became law last October. “We are now working with our partners at the Social Media Animal Cruelty Coalition to ensure that social media platforms are required to detect and remove all such content, and that those who produce and distribute it are reported to authorities.”

In addition to governments and social media platforms, the broader public also has a crucial role to play. Any interaction with cruelty content online increases the visibility of that content, increasing profits for abusers and expanding the market for cruelty. Born Free advises people not to engage in such content but instead report it to online platforms.

People can also post information about animal cruelty content to the Animal Cruelty Coalition on Social Media at: www.smaccoalition.com/report-it-hub.

REPORT ANIMAL CRUELTY ONLINE