Action for Primates
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Action for Primates |
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The following are news releases for 2025. See elsewhere for news releases from other years.
Index of news releases; select date & title to access:
25 April 2025: US Man Who Sent 'Wish List' of Monkey Torture Ideas to Videomakers in Indonesia Jailed on 'Crush' Charges
Animal protection groups that first exposed phenomenon welcome recent law enforcement actions in US, UK, and Indonesia
April 25th 2025—Animal protection nonprofits Action for Primates (UK) and Lady Freethinker (US) applaud the jail sentence handed to a US individual convicted of Conspiracy to Create and Distribute Animal Crushing Videos.
Maryland man Drexel Venero, who had pleaded guilty to the charges, has received an 18-month sentence with three years' supervised release. Venero sent out a "wish list" of torture requests, according to court documents, which included: hammering a monkey's limbs until they were flat; smashing their genitalia; pulling their teeth; cutting off their eyelids; and using a C-clamp to slowly crush their skull. He was a part of several private groups that used encrypted chats to ideate and share the videos. Venero collected funds to pay videomakers in other countries, like Indonesia, for new animal crush videos to be produced.
This sentencing is the latest in a series of arrests, convictions and imprisonment following Action for Primate's and Lady Freethinker's work exposing an online monkey torture group called "Million Tears"—led by Ohio man and former school teacher Ronald Bedra, who went by the online alias "DemonSwordSoulCrusher". Bedra was recently sentenced to 54 months in prison for conspiracy to create and spread monkey torture videos. Bedra was a leader in "Million Tears", which commissioned the sexual abuse, torture and killing of infant monkeys. The evidence uncovered during an investigation by Action for Primates and Lady Freethinker—including videos and screenshots of chats from him and other group members—was handed over to the US authorities.
Members of the "Million Tears" group could pay for their own "private monkey" to be filmed while being tortured through the member's chosen method, or several members could make smaller contributions towards a fee for their share of a "community monkey"—which allowed participants to request specific, depraved acts of cruelty and torture to be inflicted upon this 'shared' monkey and decide how the monkey was to be killed.
Following "Million Tears", various other groups sprung up dedicated to the torture, mutilation and killing of infant long-tailed macaques.
The sentencing of Drexel Venero follows that of Virginia man Michael Macartney, known online as "The Torture King", who was recently sentenced to 40 months in prison for his role in a global monkey torture ring. Macartney was featured in the BBC documentary The Monkey Haters—for which Lady Freethinker and Action for Primates provided intelligence and information.
Baby monkey torture videos are often purchased through encrypted chats on Telegram, using cryptocurrency and other online payment methods. The videos have been re-posted on major social media sites such as Facebook and YouTube.
Creating and distributing "animal crush" videos is a federal crime in the US, punishable by up to seven years in prison under the Preventing Animal Cruelty and Torture Act (PACT Act). Prosecutions in the US and UK span late 2023 through April 2025—and more are expected to follow. They include:
Additionally, several people in Indonesia have been sent to prison for their involvement in the torture and killing of monkeys:
Sarah Kite, co-founder, Action for Primates, stated: We welcome the prison sentences handed down to Venero and others involved in facilitating the violent and sadistic torture and killing of baby monkeys. These people need to know that there are legal consequences to their vile and depraved activities. We sincerely hope this prosecution and punishment will act as an important deterrent to others.
Nina Jackel, founder, Lady Freethinker, stated: The immense suffering inflicted on helpless infant macaques purely for human 'amusement' in these underground groups is heartbreaking and must not be tolerated. I'm grateful to law enforcement for their diligent work in investigating these brutal acts and seeking justice.
NOTES:
About Lady Freethinker:
Founded in 2013 by Nina Jackel, Lady Freethinker (LFT) is a Los Angeles-based nonprofit organisation dedicated to exposing and stopping the suffering of animals, humans and the planet. Through its undercover investigations, news reporting and petitions, LFT brings to light suffering that may otherwise go ignored and works toward lasting, systemic change. LFT also provides direct aid to animal rescue. Visit the LFT Website: https://ladyfreethinker.org/
About Action for Primates:
Action for Primates is a UK-based project that campaigns on behalf of non-human primates globally. Action for Primates raises awareness about the plight of and threats to non-human primates around the world and works to end their exploitation, whether in captivity or in the wild. Action for Primates Website: https://actionforprimates.org/
6 February 2025: Urgent Call for Mauritius to Reject Monkey Experiment Deal with Charles River Laboratories
Animal protection groups from Mauritius, the USA and Europe, have written to the Mauritian Prime Minister, appealing for the Government to abandon plans to sign a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Charles River Laboratories. In their letter to the Prime Minister, the groups provide detailed documentation exposing the failures and risks of monkey experimentation, the ethical and scientific horrors of this industry, and the availability of modern, humane, human-relevant alternatives. If approved, the MOU would enable the company to carry out pre-clinical testing, including toxicity (poisoning) testing, in the country using long-tailed macaques. The appeal follows a statement made by Dr Arvin Boolell, the Mauritian Minister of Agriculture, during an interview on Radio One (LE FACE A FACE) broadcast on 22nd January 2025 (1).
The groups (2) asked that the Mauritius government reject the MOU. With the scientific community increasingly questioning the use of monkeys on ethical, moral, and scientific grounds – and groundbreaking, non-animal technologies rapidly advancing – signing an MOU would be a regressive and short-sighted move. Instead of clinging to an outdated and ineffective practice, Mauritius has the opportunity to lead in the global shift toward humane, human-relevant, and cutting-edge research methods that represent the true future of science.
The continued use of monkeys in research is not only ethically and scientifically flawed, but also poses a serious public health risk. Mauritius has already been linked to multiple shipments of tuberculosis-infected monkeys, underscoring the dangers of this trade.
Mauritius' global image as a popular holiday destination is already tarnished by its large-scale monkey export industry, with over 10,000 macaques shipped annually to testing laboratories in the USA and Europe. The establishment of a testing facility by Charles River Laboratories – one of the most controversial users of long-tailed macaques – would only deepen this stain. Not only would it further damage the country's reputation, it would also drive an increase in the capture, breeding, suffering, infectious disease transmission and deaths of these exploited animals. Instead of expanding this cruel industry, Mauritius should take a stand against it.
In 2023, Charles River became the subject of US federal criminal and civil investigations for possible violations of the law involving the import of long-tailed macaques from Cambodia (3). A US Fish and Wildlife Service investigation conducted between 2018 and 2022, provided evidence that an estimated 30,000 wild-caught macaques of Cambodian origin had been falsely labelled as captive bred on CITES permits and imported into the US. During this time, Charles River imported more than 1,000 monkeys into the US from Cambodia, and as these monkeys may have been imported illegally, they are in limbo after the Fish and Wildlife Service stopped their sale to laboratories (4).
In February 2023, Charles River announced it was suspending imports from Cambodia into the US until it could ensure monkeys were not illegally captured – but then began importing these monkeys into Canada instead. As a result, the company is now also under investigation in Canada. The company has a long history of violating laws and regulations, including failing to provide suffering animals with pain relief or appropriate medical care, failing to conduct proper veterinary inspections before transporting monkeys, and baking monkeys alive when no one noticed a thermostat malfunction (5).
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