THE torturing of animals to produce content for entertainment purposes is a crime that cannot be tolerated by any civilized society. The law enforcement authorities, and the public, must not treat lightly these videos of animal torture that are increasingly going viral on social media.

In the last three years, we have seen the arrest of a number of people involved in the production of animal torture video in various regions of Indonesia. In the latest case, West Kalimantan police arrested a person suspected of making a video of the torture of a long-tailed monkey. He was allegedly paid up to Rp1 million for each video he produced.

In addition to monkeys, animals such as dogs, cats, chickens, rabbits, snakes, pangolins and even bears have been recorded being tortured to produce videos for ‘entertainment.’ The perpetrators sell these torture videos through online platforms such as YouTube and Telegram. Those who are detained usually say they committed their crimes for economic motives. In forums on the dark web, animal torture videos are priced at Rp80,000 to Rp1.6 million.

Alarmingly, Indonesia is one of the most prolific producers in the world of content showing violence towards animals. Data from the Asia for Animals Coalition shows that Indonesia is ahead of the United States and Australia in the production of these violent videos. For example, between July 2020 and August 2021, Indonesia produced the largest number of animal torture videos, accounting for 1,626 of the 5,480 videos documented.

On an individual level, people who enjoy torturing animals or watching this violent content are almost certainly seriously mentally ill. And they are only one step away from committing similar violent acts against people. But the spread of animal torture videos is not only caused by psychological problems or economic motives on the part of these individuals.

A legal system that only hands down lenient punishments to perpetrators also plays a role in the spread of animal torture videos. Law No. 41/2014 on Livestock and Animal Health only provides for a maximum punishment of six years in jail or a fine of Rp5 million for people torturing animals. Meanwhile, the Criminal Code only threatens perpetrators with jail for three to nine months.

These lenient punishments clearly do not provide any kind of deterrent effect for perpetrators, especially since law enforcement authorities are dismissive of the cases of animal abuse that come to light. In a number of cases, law enforcement personnel have only acted after pressure from members of the public or after cases have gone viral on social media.

The public should also become actively involved in fighting against animal torture. Civilized people should be aware of and report every case of animal torture to the authorities. In other words, concrete and collaborative steps are needed from everybody to ensure that the torture of animals and the trafficking of violent content against animals do not spread further.