Bartosz Poklek, a 30-year-old from Bexley in south-east London, has been sentenced to three years and three months in prison for his role as ringleader of an international 'monkey hate' network that produced and distributed horrific videos of monkeys being tortured and killed for entertainment.
Woolwich Crown Court heard on Friday how Poklek ran chat groups and distributed thousands of 'abuse on demand' videos and images, with some clips selling for up to 500 dollars each. The videos were based on scripts detailing how the animals should be killed, including being clubbed to death with a hammer.
Judge describes 'despicable' online community
Sentencing Poklek, Judge Christopher Grout described the offending as 'truly appalling' and said: 'It is no exaggeration to say that as a lawyer or as a judge I have never encountered such a horrific case of animal abuse in my life.' He added: 'There is a vile underground community who have a hatred of monkeys, particularly baby monkeys, and take pleasure in seeing such monkeys being tortured and killed.'
The judge also called on Parliament to consider raising the maximum penalty for animal abuse, which currently stands at five years. 'If ever there was a case that demonstrates that the statutory maximum for animal cruelty is too low, this is it,' he said.
The court heard that the abuse takes place in south-east Asia, where macaque monkeys are subjected to prolonged torture on camera for online viewers worldwide. Judge Grout said 'zoo sadists' are recruited after showing interest in animal abuse material on YouTube, Facebook, and TikTok, before being invited to more secure platforms like Discord and Telegram.
Prosecution details Poklek's controlling role
Prosecutor Alex Kettle-Williams told the court that Poklek styled himself as 'BP' online and ran a chat group titled 'BP empire'. He was described as 'a controlling figure in what is known as the monkey hate community'. Police found evidence that Poklek had requested the killing of a stump-tailed monkey, drafted scripts for videos, and made repeated requests for death by hammer.
Ms Kettle-Williams highlighted examples of the abuse, including a 39-minute video of a baby monkey being tortured with alcohol, set on fire, and bound with zip ties, and another video lasting almost half an hour in which a baby monkey was mutilated with scissors while still alive.
Poklek was arrested after attempting to obtain court documents from a monkey torture criminal case in the US. The investigation involved the National Wildlife Crime Unit, the Metropolitan Police, West Mercia Police, US Homeland Security Investigations, and the US Fish and Wildlife Service.
Guilty plea and wider concerns
Poklek admitted running a 'large-scale monkey torture ring' between June 2023 and September 2025. He also pleaded guilty to publishing obscene videos for gain, possession of indecent images of children, and possession of ketamine.
Ms Kettle-Williams noted that Poklek's possession of child abuse images mirrored cases against others involved in monkey torture worldwide. She said monkeys are sometimes dressed in bonnets and nappies and fed with a baby's milk bottle, raising concerns they are used as 'proxy infants' by users interested in violent child abuse.
Defence lawyer Alexia Nicol said Poklek 'finds it difficult to explain how he became involved in this' and was seeking 'kudos' as an organiser rather than money. She added: 'He is someone who was in isolation, sitting on the internet, using drugs, and in effect slipped further into a world where the boundaries became less and less clear.'
Adeolu Odusote of the Crown Prosecution Service said: 'Bartosz Poklek was a key cog in a vile trade that oversaw and encouraged the sickening torture of monkeys. Treating vulnerable animals in this way is a horrifying practice that must be rooted out wherever it's found.'
RSPCA Special Operations Unit Chief Will Mitchell said: 'Treating animals in this way is absolutely not acceptable and has no place in a modern society that is largely made up of kind, compassionate animal lovers.' He noted that more than one in five people have witnessed avoidable animal suffering online, rising to 32% of 18 to 24-year-olds, and urged the public to report such content to platforms, which under the Online Safety Act now have obligations to tackle illegal content promoting animal abuse.
