вЂњWeвЂ™ve recently expanded our violent and graphic policy around animal abuse content, to more clearly prohibit content featuring deliberate physical suffering or harm to animals, including content featuring animal rescue that has been staged and places the animal in harmful scenarios.What happens when you gather 7.8 million reddit вЂњdegeneratesвЂќ together? Apparently, the nightmare of a Wall Street hedge fund.

вЂњI feel that the private group weвЂ™ve discovered is just one case of filmakers selling videos directly to fetishists, as YouTube has provided an open door of communication and an easy way for those who enjoy watching the torture to connect.вЂќДЄ spokesperson for YouTube said: вЂњYouTube has never allowed content thatвЂ™s violent or abusive toward animals. Channels exist solely to post videos of monkeys suffering and they have become meeting places for fetishists to encourage more violence and fuel each other on. Nina Jackel, Founder of Lady Freethinker, said: вЂњMonkey torture and вЂњhateвЂќ - particularly for baby macaques - is a widespread problem thatвЂ™s been happening for years on YouTube. YouTube took down a number of video channels flagged to them by Action for Primates after they were found to be violating the sites spam policies and animal abuse guidelines.

Instead they are acting as breeding grounds for people to meet and escalate the violence that is inflicted on, in this case, monkeys.вЂќ

вЂњSocial media platforms arenвЂ™t taking effective action on the videos of animal cruelty on their sites and they are not taking action quickly enough. We know that members of these chat groups met on YouTube and were also trying to recruit people on YouTube. Sarah Kite, from Action for Primates, said: вЂњYouTube are enabling people to meet and have vile conversations on their platform. In one comment posted to the group, a user said: вЂњOnce we are around 50 members, I am comfortable with stopping the promotion in YouTube comments and just letting our users personally invite people.вЂќДЄnimal activists have warned that social media platforms such as Youtube and Facebook are not doing enough to stop animal abusers meeting online. In one video, a baby money was covered in flammable liquid and set on fire. Members then organise for handlers in Indonesia to perform the horrific acts on native monkeys. The private chat group is based in the US but includes some members who say they are from the UK. In another sick post, accompanied by a photo of a young monkey strapped to a wooden cross, a forum user tried to drum up interest saying: вЂњLetвЂ™s all enjoy some initial monkey discomfort and be sure to sign up with Monkey Crusher and submit your $20 ideas for your own monkey video.вЂќ I have a few videos in the works right now.вЂќДЄnother warned members not to make their request too elaborate, adding that вЂњant videosвЂќ would be вЂњdouble price ($50)вЂќ.

One organizer of the cruel videos posted the rules of the вЂњmonkey adoption programвЂќ on an internet forum, boasting: вЂњI believe we may be able to secure 2 more monkeys in the next 24 hours, and these are the youngest yet. The online group, which has over thirty members, has been running since May this year and campaigners believe there could be other secretive groups that are feeding the demand for videos of animal cruelty.

Monke strong together