Macaque ‘selfie’ has ruined my life, says wildlife photographer
‘Everything I did to try to highlight the plight of the monkeys has backfired on my private life. I’ve had my life ruined’
ALL David Slater wanted to do was highlight the plight of the macaque through his photographs.
But it is now his own cause that needs raising, and all because of a monkey that grabbed his camera and snapped a “selfie”.
Mr Slater, 52, is being dragged through the courts by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) on behalf of Naruto, a six-year-old macaque.
The wildlife photographer has been left penniless by the battle raging in the US and, as a result, plans to give up his day job and take up dog walking or tennis coaching instead.
Mr Slater had travelled to Sulawesi, Indonesia, and spent a week taking pictures of macaques in 2011. He mounted his camera on a tripod, and then gradually persuaded the monkeys to press the shutter while looking into the lens.
Naruto then took a photo of itself grinning for the camera. The “selfie” became a worldwide hit, with modest royalties to go with it.
Except PETA insists that since the monkey took the photo, it should get the financial reward for its artistry.
The legal wrangling – some might call it monkeying about – has left Mr Slater broke.
“Dog walking would be a new venture for me. It would pay peanuts, but at least it would be more than photography,” Mr Slater told The Daily Telegraph. “I am just not motivated to go out and take photos any more.
“I’ve had outlays of several thousand pounds for lawyers, it is losing me income and getting me so depressed. When I think about the whole situation I really don’t think it’s worth it.”
Although the photograph is famous, Mr Slater says his income from it amounts to no more than £100 every few months.
“Everything I did to try to highlight the plight of the monkeys has backfired on my private life,” Mr Slater said. “I’ve had my life ruined.”
In 2014 he asked Wikipedia to take down his picture after they published it without his permission, but the web giant refused and said that the copyright belonged to the monkey. The US Copyright Office ruled that animals cannot own copyright but PETA sued Mr Slater in 2015.
At a court hearing yesterday in front of a federal appeal judge at the 9th Circuit in San Francisco, lawyers for Mr Slater said it was “absurd” for PETA to claim that the monkey was entitled to copyright. Angela Dunning, representing Mr Slater, told the court that PETA was “not even sure they have the right monkey”.
“It is absurd to say a monkey can sue for copyright infringement. Naruto can’t benefit financially from his work. He is a monkey.”
Andrew Dhuey, also representing Mr Slater, said PETA should pay all of his legal fees because “monkey see, monkey sue will not do in federal court”.
Judge Carlos Bea asked why the case should not be dismissed and asked if anyone could point to the law which said “man and monkey are the same”.