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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.

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[–] pigup@lemmy.world 1 points 7 months ago
[–] skozzii@lemmy.ca 1 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago)

This is truly sadistic behaviour. Considering how close they are to humans as well...

[–] BonesOfTheMoon@lemmy.world 1 points 7 months ago (1 children)

Death penalty would be appropriate here. I'm not a believer in general but what else can you do with this human trash?

[–] Agent641@lemmy.world 1 points 7 months ago

Throw him to the monkeys.

[–] Zink@programming.dev 1 points 7 months ago

Wow, I’m shocked that somebody doing such horrible things would take the time to support “states’ rights” as well!

…well, not that shocked.

[–] MilitantVegan@lemmy.world 1 points 7 months ago (1 children)

They're only getting 5 years in prison. The article also says Macartney had been in prison previously. Since the US prison systems are designed for sadism and punishment, it probably did more to make the guy amenable to this kind of horror. It's also known that slaughterhouses frequently get their workers from the prison system, so it's very possible that this guy will simply have his unapproved abuses exchanged with ones that our society sanctions.

When he comes out, his mind is most likely to be more disturbed than when he went in.

[–] MilitantVegan@lemmy.world 0 points 7 months ago (1 children)

And every person here who still consumes animal products is a hypocrite.

[–] Ultragigagigantic@lemmy.world 0 points 7 months ago (2 children)

I think there are other more modest proposals then quitting meat.

Be a part of the solution!

[–] MilitantVegan@lemmy.world 1 points 7 months ago (1 children)

Currently billions of animals are raised in atrocious conditions and slaughtered against their will, for food, every year. This alone should be reason enough to want it to end, but the problems don't end there. Most of the top causes of death in industrialized nations is the result of lifestyle diseases such heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and cancers. The main drivers of these diseases is overconsumption of animal products. In other words eating animals is the leading cause of death in humans.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/56984912-the-proof-is-in-the-plants

To make it worse, food deserts in low income areas results in disproportionately higher incidences of these diseases and causes of death for black people, indigenous people, and all persons of color.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=w9ixJ3YcmZg&pp=ygUldGhleSdyZSB0cnlpbmcgdG8ga2lsbCB1cyBkb2N1bWVudGFyeQ%3D%3D

even worse, animal agriculture is one of the worst sources of environmental destruction. It is one of the top causes of climate change, the single largest cause of deforestation, and causes rampant pollution.

https://www.surgeactivism.org/aveganworld

And again, it gets even worse. Not only is it strongly arguable that consumption of animals and their products is the cause of the covid pandemic; animal ag is also the leading cause of antibiotic resistant diseases, and if it's allowed to continue it will only be a matter of when, not if, we end up with an H5N1 pandemic - a flu that has a 50-60% death rate. This should be reason enough for governments to outright declare animal agriculture a threat to national security, and pursue strong policies to transition away from animal consumption as rapidly as possible.

https://www.surgeactivism.org/notifbutwhenbirdflu

When something is this bad, aren't modest proposals the last thing we need?

[–] chetradley@lemmy.world 0 points 7 months ago (1 children)

I've yet to see a proposal more convincing to me than just avoiding animal products altogether. Don't get me wrong, I used to enjoy things like meat, dairy and eggs, but I realized the cost far outweighed my own pleasure.

[–] rusticus@lemm.ee 0 points 7 months ago (1 children)

Dairy and eggs don’t kill animals in a cruel way. It’s animal exploitation yes but who amongst us aren’t exploited?

[–] Sizzler@slrpnk.net 1 points 7 months ago

You never seen an egg laid without a shell because of the stress the chicken is under huh?

[–] LiveLM@lemmy.zip 0 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago) (1 children)

You see, sometimes you see some fucked up shit in a movie and you think "oh ok, this is just for the sake of story, there's no way this has ever happened in real life"
Then you read an article like this.

The groups were used to share ideas for custom-made torture videos, such as setting live monkeys on fire, injuring them with tools and even putting one in a blender.

How... How do you even come back from this? Is there any hope these people can get rehabilitated? I'm struggling to believe the answer is anything other than "NO."

[–] UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world -1 points 7 months ago

How… How do you even come back from this?

The sort of shit a 12 year old would come up with in a video game in an attempt to shock one's friends made manifest IRL by grown ass adults.

[–] A_Random_Idiot@lemmy.world 0 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago) (1 children)

Mr Macartney has cooperated with investigators from the Department of Homeland Security and agreed to plead guilty to conspiracy charges. He will formally make a plea later this month and is facing up to five years in prison.

WHAT THE FUCK. 5 YEARS?!

FOR SEXUALLY ABUSING, TORTURING, AND MUTILATING ANIMALS FOR PROFIT?!

And of course hes a MAGAt. Fucking soulless, worthless cumstains on the fabric of society.

[–] UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world -1 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago)

Distributing 500 grams of cocaine? 5 year prison sentence.

Distributing 5 grams of cocaine cut with baking soda? 5 year prison sentence.

Sexually abusing, mutilating, and slaughtering animals in the most sadistic methods imaginable? 5 year prison sentence.

American criminal justice system is extremely normal.

[–] Jas91a@lemmy.world 0 points 7 months ago (1 children)

Monkey torture network WTF

[–] UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world -1 points 7 months ago

Vince McMahon would be into it given his long and storied history of brutality against his staff.

[–] Duke_Nukem_1990@feddit.de 0 points 7 months ago (1 children)

Oof what a piece of shit. I'd say hurting animals for profit is just the lowest of the low but I guess as a meat eater I better shut up lol

[–] rottingleaf@lemmy.zip 0 points 7 months ago (1 children)

There's a difference between killing and torturing.

[–] BonesOfTheMoon@lemmy.world 0 points 7 months ago (1 children)

Animals used for meat are tortured. They call the rack they tie the cows to for mating to keep them pregnant and producing milk the rape rack.

[–] Dasus@lemmy.world 1 points 7 months ago (1 children)

Industrially farmed livestock is tortured, but not all meat comes from industrial farms.

I'm sure the deer meat I get from my brother wasn't tortured. As in I'm 100% sure it was not.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/articles/vegan_vs_flexitarian

[–] BonesOfTheMoon@lemmy.world -1 points 7 months ago (1 children)

I can't agree. I think getting killed for food is torture. The deer wants to live.

[–] Dasus@lemmy.world 1 points 7 months ago (1 children)

I think getting killed for food is torture.

But you thinking red is blue won't make it so.

Torture has an actual definition.

It isn't killed for food. These animals have to be killed to protect the environment. Humans have replaced apex species, and if we don't keep up population control, the deer overpopulate and destroy the whole ecology.

Why should you waste the meat?

And the way they're shot, they will literally be dead before they can even hear the bang of the weapon (bullets travel faster than sound.)

So where exactly is the "torture" in that, and can you not see that taking such an absolute position is absolutely indirectly devaluing the actual animal cruelty going on in industrial farms.

[–] Duke_Nukem_1990@feddit.de 0 points 7 months ago (1 children)

Postulating that members of a species should be shot because they otherwise destroy the environment is thin fucking ice as a human lol

[–] Dasus@lemmy.world 0 points 7 months ago (1 children)

Postulating

I don't think you understand the meaning of that word.

Ecological Impacts of High Deer Densities

And in a simpler form https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deer_management

[–] Duke_Nukem_1990@feddit.de 0 points 7 months ago (1 children)

Whats the ecological impact of high human density?

[–] Dasus@lemmy.world 0 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago) (1 children)

"I'm wrong but I can't accept it so here I'll jump to ridiculous whataboutism that will hopefully make us ignore the fact that I have absolutely no idea what I'm talking about"

"Postulate": suggest or assume the existence, fact, or truth of (something) as a basis for reasoning, discussion, or belief.

I do not postulate that overpopulation of deer will destroy entire environments. It's a cold hard fact which you wish to ignore.

[–] Duke_Nukem_1990@feddit.de 0 points 7 months ago (1 children)

Its not whataboutism. If you want to apply "killing is good against individuals of a species responsible for environmental destruction" then you should apply it to the biggest offender. Or be a hypocrite I guess. Your choice.

[–] Dasus@lemmy.world 0 points 7 months ago (1 children)

There's nothing hypocritical about it.

Two wrongs don't make a right, didn't your mommy ever teach you that?

That is literally whataboutism.

Deer population has to be managed, or entire environments will die. You won't get out of that being a fact by going "well but what about corporate pollution?!1?"

If you were accused of murder and asked to provide an alibi, you wouldn't get off by saying "well what about Jeffrey Dahmer?"

[–] Duke_Nukem_1990@feddit.de 0 points 7 months ago

You seem to purposefully miss the point. Have fun with that I guess 🤷