Indonesia Person Of The Year

An Indonesian monkey who shot to fame after it snapped a grinning selfie — and sparked a landmark US copyright case — was named “Person of the Year” Wednesday by the animal rights group that took on the simian’s cause.

The People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) said it was honouring Naruto, a crested black macaque with a goofy-looking grin, to recognise that “he is someone, not 

something”.

In 2011, the monkey pressed the shutter button while staring down the lens of a camera set up British nature photographer David Slater on the island of Sulawesi. The photos quickly went viral and PETA launched a lawsuit that claimed the then six-year-old Naruto should be “declared the author and owner of his photograph”.

Authorities and activists have been trying to persuade villagers on Sulawesi to stop consuming the critically endangered monkeys, one of many creatures that form part of the local indigenous community’s diet.