Lanarkshire woman jailed in ‘monkey torture ring’ released early from prison
Natalie Herron was jailed last year after admitting to distributing and possessing obscene publications related to extreme animal abuse.
13th October 2026
An Airdrie woman jailed over a “horrific” monkey torture ring has been released from prison early.
Natalie Herron was put behind bars last year in a landmark case for possessing and distributing sickening footage of monkeys being tortured. She was jailed for two years and three months at Airdrie Sheriff Court on Tuesday, June 10, 2025, after officers investigating the sick crime described it as the “the most horrific material” they had ever seen.
The abuse seen in paid-for-clips ordered monkeys to be sadistically tortured and killed in Indonesia to create videos to be circulated online. Videos featured brutal and prolonged torture of monkeys, some of which were just babies.
The Daily Record understands Herron was recently set free from behind bars. Herron completed just over half of her original term.
Her release has been slammed by animal protection group, Action for Primates, who have spent years investigating the sadistic world of online monkey torture groups and previously welcomed her conviction. Co-founder Sarah Kite told us: “I am shocked and disappointed to learn that Natalie Herron has subsequently been released from prison before serving her full term.
“Not only was the original sentence inadequate considering the heinous nature of her crime, foreshortening her prison term shows an unacceptable level of leniency towards someone who was a member of such a sadistic online monkey torture group responsible for facilitating the most appalling abuse and killing of baby monkeys in Indonesia for ‘entertainment’.
“Her perverted ‘enjoyment’ at watching helpless baby monkeys being abused and brutalised in the most horrific ways was sickening. Such depraved people need to feel the full force of the law as both a punishment and a deterrent.”
Between December 2021 and September 2022, the vile video – which was a part of an global monkey torture ring – was shared and watched online. As part of a cooperative effort with the National Wildlife Crime Unit (NWCU), the National Crime Agency (NCA) provided intelligence that led to Herron’s arrest in September 2022.
Her imprisonment was a chilling legal first that anyone in Scotland had been convicted for involvement in animal cruelty that occurred abroad. Speaking regarding the the investigation, Detective Sergeant Karen Murray previously labelled it “one of the most disturbing and graphic cases” she had worked on.
Detective Inspector Mark Harrison of the NWCU added: “The people involved are not just motivated by money, this is also about getting some sort of gratification from watching animals being tortured and then sharing those images with others.”
Herron was not the only person convicted as part of the same sick worldwide global network. At Worcester Crown Court in November 2024, Holly LeGresley, 37, of Kidderminster was sentenced to two years and Adriana Orme, 55, of Upton-upon Severn to one year and three months in prison.
While one of the main organisers of the global ring, a man in the USA called Michael Macartney, known online as ‘The Torture King’, was jailed for three years and four months in the US state of Virginia for his part in the ring.
https://www.glasgowlive.co.uk/news/glasgow-news/lanarkshire-woman-jailed-monkey-torture-34755894
The legal system in this country is absolute crap, letting a nasty vile pervert like this Herron woman out early is an absolute disgrace with no justice for these poor monkeys, what they should do with her is leave her at the seaside somewhere and let the HERRON gulls peck her to death. Things certainly need to change in this country as it is getting more like america every day with the disgusting crime around. We need proper laws to deal with this scum ie hanging or electric chair or lethal injection for murderers castration for child abuser and peodo’s as far as thieves go I would chop their hands off. ANIMAL abusers of any kind should go to prison for a very very long time except scum that sexually abuse an animal in that case they should be sentenced to death. This country is so week with useless governments with no backbone to bring in proper laws.
The call for justice reaches beyond the monkeys, but also for the people who were involved in stopping the disgusting scum. Those investigators and others will have seen the videos, and will unlikelybe able to shake the sight and knowledge of evil from their memories.