Nedim Buyukmihci, AFP’s veterinary advisor. The macaques’ unmet needs can lead to dangers for humans, said Dr. Some of the posters also filmed videos in which they touched or focused their cameras on the genitals of the macaques.Ĭambodia’s illegal “pet” trade also has been directly tied to traffickers ripping infants from their mothers in the wild – which may include injuring or killing their troop members who rush to the babies’ aid – and selling them to people who have little or no knowledge of what the animals need to thrive. Other posters have filmed seemingly endless bathing (which compromises the health of macaques’ skin), forced bipedal walking, and macaques with their hands and feet wrapped to prevent visible finger-sucking – which also prevents the infants from grabbing things, a natural behavior, and interferes with their balance. Nor are they confined to just the three popular posters visited by our investigator: Videos uploaded to social media platforms by other posters in Cambodia, as documented by our investigators, show baby monkeys forced into abnormal and cruel conditions in which they exhibit clear distress, including screaming and crying. While these videos may appear “cute” to some, they are cruel, irresponsible, and dangerous. Bipedal walking, or walking on the hind legs, is not natural for monkeys and can lead to damage to joints and muscles. We have also documented videos uploaded by this channel that show an infant macaque cruelly dumped into a chair and filmed crying for the camera and a macaque whose arms were so tightly confined in clothing that the monkey was forced to walk upright. Pig-tailed and a long-tailed macaque at another site also were kept in a barren wire cage in a filthy area of the residence, with the owner telling the investigator that they were fed milk, fruit, jelly, and candy. Videos from this channel show the poster hanging a macaque over a balcony and threatening to drop him, biting macaques on the tail or feet, hitting a macaque in the face and knocking over a macaque.
The YouTuber told our investigator that she made mistakes in the beginning, saying that when the monkeys were “not listening,” she got angry and received complaints from the viewers. “Forcibly removing and depriving infant monkeys of their mothers and raising them in captivity in unnatural conditions is extremely cruel and will result in abnormal behavior and development and lead to severe psychological and physical problems,” said AFP Co-founder Sarah Kite.Īt one site, the investigator documented five young monkeys kept in a wire cage with a wire floor without any enrichment or platforms and witnessed the monkeys sucking their fingers – a clear coping mechanism when faced with stress, separation, or loss, according to experts. But the unlawful practice has proliferated, given a lack of law enforcement and the easy availability of wild monkeys, captured from the forests of Cambodia, according to AFP. It’s illegal to own macaques, and most other wild animals, as pets in Cambodia. One channel we investigated had videos with deplorable methods of “discipline,” including hitting and biting the macaques or hanging them upside down. Sometimes, the online videos even show cruelty outright. Lady Freethinker and Action for Primates sent an investigator to meet with several popular social media-channel owners in Cambodia, and what we learned was shocking - animals forced into cramped, barren wire cages with no access to food and water, and displaying stress-based behaviors. The reality for these monkeys when the camera turns off is much darker. Similar videos from other channels show clothed “pet” monkeys “dancing,” spinning in circles and playing with toys as their seemingly “loving” owners talk to them softly, smile, or laugh. In the YouTube video, tiny infant macaques dressed in colorful, doll-like outfits sit fidgeting adorably in a row as their keeper puts rice cakes in front of them, chiding the animals when they reach to nibble before her command.
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