Winner, Animal Category
Li Feng, Yichang, China

Caged monkeys await their fate at a medical laboratory in Hubei Province, China.

This shot was honored as the best animal picture in the National Geographic Society's 2007 Global Photography Contest, which was conducted in partnership with the English-language edition and 23 local-language editions of National Geographic magazine. (National Geographic News is owned by the National Geographic Society.)

A panel of experts selected four winning photographers in categories for animals, landscapes, people, and photo essays. The images were among a pool of nearly 150,000 submissions from around the world.

"The unique structure of these cages—they look homemade—and the horror of [the monkeys'] captivity all add up to this terrifically sad photo," said judge Susan Welchman, National Geographic's senior photo editor. "It was hands down the most effective frame we had."

See galleries of all the contest winners at National Geographic magazine online.

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