Reconsider ‘NFA’ on monkey torture porn case, says international group

 

Screengrab from a video showing a man who claims to be from Selangor Perhilitan loading carcasses of monkeys onto a pickup truck. (Facebook pic)

PETALING JAYA: An international animal rights coalition is pleading with the attorney-general to reconsider the “no further action” (NFA) classification given to several animal torture porn cases involving long-tailed macaques.

The Asia for Animals Coalition (AfA) said the NFA classification was disappointing given the increase in the filming and subsequent upload onto social media of acts of torture and killing committed on baby monkeys.

AfA’s Sarah Grant said the pervasiveness of these videos was highly disturbing, and makes the need to address such cases even more urgent.

“It is crucial that where evidence exists of those individuals responsible for such sadistic acts of cruelty, action is taken to send a clear message that such cruelty is not acceptable, and to act as a deterrent to others,” Grant said in a letter sent to the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) on July 5.

A copy of the letter was also sent to Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, law and institutional reform minister Azalina Othman Said, and wildlife protection and national parks department (Perhilitan) director-general Kadir Abu Hashim.

Lawyer-activist Rajesh Nagarajan (centre) after a police report was lodged by animal rights group Hak Asasi Hidupan Liar Malaysia (Hidup) in January on the video clip of a baby monkey being tortured.

“We respectfully ask that you (Attorney-General Idrus Harun) reconsider this case and take appropriate action against the individual suspected of carrying out such sadistic and horrifying (acts of) torture and killing of baby monkeys.”

She said the long-tailed macaque has been categorised as an “endangered” species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species and is protected under the Wildlife Conservation Act 2010.

Grant cited the AfA’s report in 2021 which highlighted the availability of 5,480 content items involving animal cruelty on Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Instagram and Telegram, which have been collectively viewed 5.34 million times.

She also cited a data analysis conducted by the coalition in February which revealed that primates were featured in 70% of 1,703 documented animal cruelty content items, with northern pig-tailed and long-tailed macaques being the most frequently “used” species.

Links to the various social media platforms were cited, although just under 50% of the links reported since Aug 30, 2021 have since been removed.

“This is yet another reason why it is crucial for the authorities to take action on this case: to set an example for others who wish to abuse animals for social media,” she said.

On April 5, FMT quoted Lawyers for Animal Rights spokesman Rajesh Nagarajan as saying that a police report filed over the alleged torture was classified as NFA by the AGC, a decision the NGO found “illogical”.

The alleged perpetrator had recorded the torture of the primates and sold the footage on a Telegram group named “Monkey Haters”. - FMT