Why you shouldn’t watch or share monkey videos online
News
Over 1,200 seemingly “innocent” social media videos of macaque monkeys being bathed, dressed in clothes, or ‘rescued’ and were shared across multiple social media platforms were investigated by The Social Media Animal Cruelty Coalition (SMACC). Here’s why you shouldn't watch them online.
1. Macaque monkeys are exploited for baby-like content
In the wild, baby macaque monkeys typically stay with their mothers for a year or longer. These long-term bonds are essential for their mental and emotional well-being, particularly considering these animals live their whole lives in large, multigenerational family groups.
But baby macaque monkeys are also seen as perfect victims for creating ‘cute’ monkey videos where they are treated like human babies. Videos showing macaque monkeys wearing nappies or baby clothes, being bottle-fed and bathed, and being cradled or kissed by their human “mum” or “dad” are among the most popular. While these videos may seem heartwarming and harmless to the ill-advised viewer, the animal’s welfare is actually compromised.
The macaque monkeys used for social media content are often only a few days old, isolated from the large family groups that bring them comfort. In some cases, the monkeys were recorded with their umbilical cords still attached. For complex, social animals, this can cause irreparable harm, altering their brain function, compromising their physical health, and lowering their life expectancy.
2. They endure physical and psychological suffering for entertainment
Another popular type of video the report identified shows macaque monkeys being forced to perform human-like behaviours, like eating food, playing with flowers, walking on their back legs, and carrying objects — all for the purpose of entertainment.
These macaque monkeys are not only forced to perform unnatural tricks, but the methods used to train and manage them are also cruel. Trainers often use negative reinforcement, like physical punishment or withholding food, when they do not comply with commands.
The monkey abuse often continues off-camera too. Many are kept in small cages, given poor or inappropriate food, and little to no social interaction. These factors combine to leave abused monkeys with severe health issues, including conditions such as diabetes and emotional trauma.
3. Their fear is misinterpreted as joy
One of the difficulties SMACC, World Animal Protection, and other animal welfare workers face in challenging this content is that viewers (and some well-meaning owners) misunderstand primate behaviours and interpret their reactions from a distinctly human perspective.
Many of the videos researchers found show macaque monkeys displaying a wide ‘grin’. This is often perceived as a smile, indicating pleasure or joy. In reality, this grimace is a common primate behaviour used to express fear, nervousness, or extreme submission. Far from enjoying the experiences, these macaque monkeys were attempting to communicate their fear.
Monkeys are sentient beings that experience a rich inner world of emotions. Viewers are quick to assume that they feel joy or amusement, instead of recognising it as pain, suffering, and misery.
4. They are sold as pets on social media, fuelling illegal wildlife trade
Many macaque species are endangered, including 35% of those most often exploited for social content, like the southern pig-tailed, long-tailed, and stump-tailed macaque monkeys.
And yet they are sold on social media. This trading, often misleadingly advertised as “adoption”, not only leads to more monkeys being abused (as they are usually purchased to be kept for entertainment or as pets) but also endangers wildlife populations.
Obtaining baby macaque monkeys from the wild often involves killing other members of their social group as they try to protect the target animal from harm.
This is particularly concerning given their endangered status and can have devastating impacts on the stability and integrity of the remaining wild population.
How to help stop monkey abuse on social media
It’s clear that ‘pet’ monkey content on social media can be profoundly harmful but we can help challenge the popularity of these photographs and videos.
Here is what you can do to help:
- stop sharing or engaging with social media contentinvolving these wild animals. This includes commenting, even if you are aiming to educate others.
- create your own post or share ours to highlight this issuewithout raising the profile of content creators who are fueling the abuse of monkeys.
- most importantly please report the content to the relevant social media platform; you can also report any social media content involving macaque monkeys and more directly to SMACC.
Take action
Take action today by signing our petitions and pledging to protect wildlife and farm animals.
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Every animal deserves a life worth living – from captive lions used for trophy hunting to mother pigs in cages in factory farms.