Target: Dame Melanie Dawes, Chief Executive, Ofcom, United Kingdom
Goal: Use the Online Safety Act to levy maximum fines and impose binding deadlines on Meta for reportedly hosting vast volumes of animal-abuse content, including alleged torture of endangered species, and to mandate proactive detection, fast removals, and public transparency.
Reports from the Social Media Animal Cruelty Coalition (SMACC) reveal a staggering volume of animal-abuse content circulating on social platforms, with Facebook reportedly hosting 87.5% of more than 80,000 public links submitted in 2024. Meta’s platforms, according to SMACC’s analysis, were responsible for over half of the detailed sample studied, yet only an estimated 36.3% of flagged posts were removed. Among the most disturbing alleged themes were so-called “monkey hatred” videos and clips that purportedly showcase wild animals as pets.
The flagged content reportedly spans at least 53 species and nearly 1,000 individual animals on Facebook alone, including critically endangered orangutans and gorillas, endangered chimpanzees and long-tailed macaques, and vulnerable species such as cheetahs and lions. On Facebook, roughly a quarter of content in SMACC’s sample allegedly involved deliberate physical torture; on Instagram, over a third allegedly used animals for entertainment. Such material not only normalises cruelty but also reputedly fuels trafficking, harassment, and copycat harm.
Under the UK’s Online Safety Act 2023, animal cruelty is classified as “priority illegal content.” Platforms are required to detect and remove such material swiftly or face substantial penalties. Given the reported scale and persistence of this content on Meta services, decisive regulatory enforcement is urgently warranted. Ofcom should require rapid takedown benchmarks, proactive detection systems, cooperation with law enforcement, independent audits, and public reporting. This petition urges the imposition of the strongest lawful sanctions and binding remediation timelines to protect animals and uphold the law.
PETITION LETTER:
Dear Dame Melanie Dawes,
We respectfully urge Ofcom to take robust enforcement action under the Online Safety Act in response to reported findings that Meta’s platforms host a vast share of online animal-abuse content. According to SMACC’s data, Facebook accounted for 87.5% of more than 80,000 public links submitted in 2024, with only about 36.3% of flagged content removed. The detailed sample allegedly includes deliberate physical torture, exploitation for “entertainment,” and the abuse of endangered primates and other protected species.
These reports indicate systemic failures to prevent, detect, and remove priority illegal content. Given the law’s requirements and the seriousness of the alleged harms, we ask Ofcom to pursue the maximum lawful penalties and to impose binding deadlines for Meta to implement effective, independently audited measures. Those measures should include proactive detection at scale, rapid takedown obligations, meaningful cooperation with law enforcement, clear user-reporting tools, and regular public transparency reports specific to animal-cruelty content.
Strong, visible enforcement will protect animals, deter repeat violations, and demonstrate that platforms cannot ignore obligations relating to priority illegal content. We appreciate Ofcom’s leadership and ask that you act decisively so that this alleged cruelty does not keep spreading online.
Sincerely,
[Your Name Here]
Photo credit: Daria Nepriakhina epicantus
