SMACC Global Summit united governments, organizations and professionals in a shared effort to end online animal cruelty.
Members of the Jane Goodall Institute Nepal and Global teams participated in the inaugural Social Media Animal Cruelty Global Summit (Bali, 11-12 June 2026). The summit, hosted by the Asia for Animals Coalition and Sintesia Animalia Indonesia, was the first of its kind, and brought together over 130 participants from 30 countries to strengthen international collaboration against online animal cruelty.
“This Summit was a landmark moment for the global response to online animal cruelty. This is an issue that animal protection organizations have been raising for years, but it has still received far too little coordinated attention worldwide. Bringing it onto a global stage, with governments, law enforcement, social media platforms, researchers, veterinarians, influencers, and animal protection organizations all in the same room, is a huge step forward.”
Nicola O’Brien, Lead Coordinator of SMACC (Social Media Animal Cruelty Coalition)
Sessions tackled themes including wildlife trade and online cruelty, investigation and prosecution, and platform policies and practices. Ayush Pant from JGI Nepal featured on a panel highlighting the use of social media and technology for good where the conversation ranged from how to reach audiences through compassionate storytelling, the impacts and opportunities of AI, and the role of online influencers.
The summit posed some thought-provoking questions, including:
- Is the danger of AI generated animal content seeing something fake and thinking it’s real, or seeing something real and assuming it’s AI?
- What impact do fake animal rescue videos have on real conservation and welfare efforts?
- How is the online trade in animals linked to online “display abuse” content?
- What are the harms to people, especially children, when exposed to animal abuse material?
The summit underscored the importance of cross-sector and cross-border collaboration in tackling this growing global issue.
Read more about the summit, its signficance and outcomes here.
JGI thanks Nicola O’Brien, Amanda Yonica Poetri Faradifa and Winaya Satasya for their invitation to participate and coordination for this crucial event.
