Big push to end cruel tourism trade in neighbouring Aussie country
Wildlife advocates have since vowed to rescue all 30 of the baby monkeys from their desperately cruel prison, in Cirebon in Indonesia.
WARNING — DISTURBING CONTENT: Wildlife advocates have vowed to rescue 30 young macaque monkeys from an inhumane dance training village in Indonesia, where they've been kept since they were just eight months old and subjected to the "cruellest regime imaginable".
According to the World Animal Protection organisation, the baby monkeys "watched their mothers get shot" before being "grabbed by their own tails and thrown into sacks by poachers" and carried away to Cirebon, in northwest Java.
There, they've been forced to perform dance routines — known as Topeng Monyet — in human clothing for tourists and "starved, hanged, beaten and chained by the neck" if they don't submit.
The babies are often made to wear masks, dress as dolls and forced to stand on two legs for hours on end. They must perform dance steps and even ride bicycles — all for the shoppers and tourists on the streets. When they're not performing, they're kept in tiny cages. Sickeningly, wildlife advocates say, none of this is illegal in the country, which is known for its inadequate animal cruelty laws at best.
Yahoo News Australia understands the rescue mission, due to take place in the coming months, and will involve the voluntary surrendering of the animals in collaboration with the local authorities and the Jakarta Animal Aid Network (JAAN).
Their captors are set to be "supported" in finding new, cruelty-free employment, so "the venue can be completely shut down". In exchange, they'll have to sign a contract that binds them to not restart their practice.
Wildlife advocate blasts senseless, 'severely cruel' dancing monkey industry
Speaking to Yahoo News Australia, Ben Pearson, Director at World Animal Protection Australia said macaques are wild animals — they are not born to dance.
"At a training centre, a young macaque is forced to endure four to six hours of physical and mental abuse every day for up to six months. This cruel regime completely shatters their spirit," he said.
"The inhumane ‘dancing monkey’ trade inflicts severe cruelty on these sentient beings who want nothing more than to be able to climb trees, bond with their social groups, and forage for fruits, seeds, and leaves in their natural habitat."
Instagram accused of 'absurd' bans despite allowing 'horrific' animal cruelty video
Facebook slammed for stubborn refusal to remove 'shocking' videos of animal cruelty
The rescue mission will involve evacuating the monkeys to Cikole, West Java, where they will be medically assessed and treated, and go through a quarantine process. If suitable for release, they will then have a chance at a new life in protected, natural forests.
Indonesia's role in rampant animal cruelty trade online
Dr Jan Schmidt-Burbach, Head of Animal Welfare at World Animal Protection, said "our partners JAAN and local authorities have made great progress" in stamping out the dancing monkey trade across much of Indonesia over the last 15 years. "We are proud to support them in shutting down this final venue of this practice," he said.
"Whilst Cirebon is the final dancing village, the Topeng Monyet practice itself is not yet illegal. JAAN’s ultimate aim is to ban the monkey dancing practice in Indonesia for good. We are supporting JAAN in their work with local authorities and charities to achieve this complete ban."
In 2021, Indonesia was ranked first as the top nation for online animal cruelty content, with thousands of videos traced back to the country, one of Australia's closest neighbours and top travel destinations.
The SMACC (Social Media Animal Cruelty Coalition) report, published by animal welfare coalition Asia for Animals (AfA), found that at least 1,626 videos depicting animal cruelty from nearly 5,500 obtained globally were believed to have originated in Indonesia.
It's a growing global problem and one that campaigners have fought social media publishers, like Facebook and Instagram's parent company Meta, against.
Meta's stubborn refusal to remove 'unmistakably cruel' macaque content
Last year, Yahoo News reported on Meta's stubborn refusal to remove dozens of shocking videos of animal abuse, many of which depict extremely disturbing acts of cruelty towards live baby monkeys.
The content, posted to a number of Facebook profiles, that appear to be run by the same person, shows mainly baby monkeys — but also other animals, including cats, dogs and rabbits — forced into sickening, inhumane and life-threatening scenarios.
In some of the videos, animals are seen stuffed into jars, plastic bottles, tied up with rope, suffocated in plastic bags, drowned, entangled in wire fencing, and in one particularly grotesque clip, a baby monkey is seen attacked by a pack of dogs as it lies defenceless on the ground while a person records and laughs.
"Let's be clear — these videos depict unmistakable animal cruelty," Pearson earlier told Yahoo.
"You don’t need to be an animal welfare expert to see that. Facebook users themselves have sounded the alarm. By turning a blind eye, Facebook is perpetuating cruelty and exploitation on their platform, while normalising this shocking treatment of wild sentient animals.
"Most of this disturbing content features infant macaques, who are often removed from their parents at a very young age, sometimes just days old, in order to be sold into the pet trade. Such maternal deprivation can cause severe and long-lasting physical and psychological damage."
World Animal Protection research found there are a jaw-dropping 5.5 billion animals kept in wildlife farms across the world, often in appalling conditions, for entertainment or tourist attractions, for petting, or to be turned into ornaments, luxury food, fashion products or traditional medicine.
Love Australia's weird and wonderful environment? Get our new newsletter showcasing the week’s best stories.
