A ringleader in a global monkey torture network exposed by the BBC has been charged by US federal prosecutors.

Michael Macartney, 50, who went by the alias “Torture King”, was charged in Virginia with conspiracy to create and distribute animal-crushing videos.

Mr Macartney was one of three key distributors identified by the BBC Eye team during a year-long investigation into sadistic monkey torture groups.

Two women have also been charged in the UK following the investigation.

Warning: This article contains disturbing content

Mr Macartney, a former motorcycle gang member who previously spent time in prison, ran several chat groups for monkey torture enthusiasts from around the world on the encrypted messaging app Telegram.

    • Corhen
      link
      English
      98 months ago

      I’m against cruel and unusual punishments… but in this case, subjecting them to their own torture devices seems appropriate.

    • @aidan
      link
      -18 months ago

      Definitely disagree. It’s disgusting, but something being disgusting to me doesn’t make it wrong. And honestly, I eat pork, so I don’t think I really have a leg to stand on with criticizing the torture of intelligent animals

      • @chetradley
        link
        18 months ago

        Out of curiosity, have you personally looked into how pigs (especially factory farmed) are raised and slaughtered?

        • @aidan
          link
          28 months ago

          Yeah, its not very humane.

          • @chetradley
            link
            18 months ago

            Sadly not. If you’re interested in cutting back support for these industries, I’d be happy to throw you some recommendations for alternatives. Just let me know what country you’re in and what you like to eat!

            • @aidan
              link
              28 months ago

              I’d be more interested in resources about the ethics/intelligence of pigs. Because, tbh my whole belief(that might be cope) is just that I’ve not really been convinced these animals are something who’s life I value. And I can’t complain about whether an animals being mistreated if I am fine with thousands of the same animal being slaughtered for people’s pleasure, whether or not the time leading up to slaughter is humane.

              • @chetradley
                link
                18 months ago

                Why do you value the lives of other humans? If it’s intelligence that’s the metric, then why value babies or mentally handicapped people? If it’s their ability to feel sadness, pain and fear, then all land animals we eat have shown those same characteristics.

                • @aidan
                  link
                  18 months ago

                  It’s not about the ability to feel an emotion but maybe it’s a lot of things. I know for a fact just the capacity to complexly communicate (with humans) would be a primary one. And so, I would say I value babies lives less to some extent.

                • @aidan
                  link
                  18 months ago

                  Thanks but tbh it seems like they’re not really presenting evidence- just making a claim. But maybe I looked in the wrong article. Also, they compared to dogs but I’m not really convinced to care about dog lives either.