Cruelty for clicks: Cambodia is investigating YouTubers’ abuse of monkeys at the Angkor UNESCO site

By DAVID RISING
Associated Press

SIEM REAP, Cambodia (AP) — Cambodian authorities are investigating the abuse of monkeys at the famous Angkor UNESCO World Heritage Site. Officials say some YouTubers are physically abusing the macaques to earn cash by generating more views. Others are not physically abusive, but lure the monkeys with food and water, making them overly dependent on humans and increasingly aggressive toward tourists. YouTube, Facebook and other sites remove the videos with graphic content, but scores of other clips of cute monkeys jumping and playing remain, generating thousands of views and subscribers as well as jobs for locals.