Meta, the parent company of Facebook, has refused to remove videos depicting horrifyingly brutal and sickening animal abuse despite public outcry. The social media platform says that these videos do not violate community guidelines. The disgusting videos show dozens of acts of extreme animal abuse. This abuse is carried out mainly against baby monkeys, but also against dogs, cats and rabbits. 

  In the videos, animals are seen in grotesquely inhumane, and life threatening situations. They are stuffed into jars and plastic bags, drowned, entangled, or attacked by other animals. The majority of the foul content dates back months or years. Often, the videos claim the animals are being rescued from abusive situations, when in fact they were placed there. These fake rescues are one way that the poster of the videos circumvents having them removed.

  The majority of the content posted features infant macaques. These infants not only suffer terrible abuse in the videos, but also undergo tremendous psychological suffering due to being separated from their mothers. Sometimes, they are ripped from their parents when they are only days old. 

  Despite being contacted repeatedly by concerned parties, Meta has so far refused to remove the abuse videos. The issue has been raised several times. Meta has stated that their platform guidelines will “remove content containing explicit sadistic remarks toward the suffering of animals depicted in the imagery.” No mention was made regarding guidelines around the images themselves. 

 World Animal Protection, PETA, and other Animal rights organizations have called on Meta to remove the videos. Additionally, they have stated that those who post such videos should face legal prosecution. 

  Another animal welfare issue of concern is the sale of exotic animals on Meta platforms. Both endangered, and non-endangered baby monkeys are often available for purchase on the platform. Despite the frequent illegality of selling wild animals, these posts appear to go unchecked by Facebook. 

  Meta not only owns Facebook, but also Instagram, Threads, WhatsApp, and many other popular platforms. Based on the company’s lack of response to animal abuse reports from Facebook, it is likely that similarly vile content exists on these other platforms. Hopefully, with continued pressure, Meta will update their guidelines to help protect helpless animals from horrendous abuse. Consumers should continue to call on Facebook to end wildlife trafficking, and stop other sickening forms of abuse from being protected by their platforms. 

Sign this petition to Remove Animal Abuse Videos and to Change Facebook’s Guidelines on Animal Abuse Videos!

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