Please Help Captive Monkeys

This captive monkey has it better than many, with a long chain and access to the lower limbs of some trees, but he is still a prisoner with no freedom of movement, no hope of parole and no monkey companions. We condemn monkeys to life in prison for no crime except being weaker than us.

If you see a monkey being kept as a captive -- especially under bad circumstances (i.e., no shelter, no water available, no companions, signs of physical abuse) -- please report it to the authorities.

Call: Sabrina Yeap, Animal Inspector, SPCA at 03-4256-5312. Be sure to ask for Sabrina and let the staff know you want to report an abuse case; the first time I called, I didn't know to ask for Sabrina and the person who answered the phone told me the SPCA only deals with dog and cat abuse cases -- not true! Sabrina is compiling as much evidence as she can to take to Perhilitan in order to make the case for better treatment of monkeys.

Call: Department of Wildlife and National Parks (Perhilitan) at 03-9075-2872. Be sure you speak to the Law & Enforcement Division; don't let them shunt you to the Complaints Division, which handles public complaints about animal nuisances. Their mission is only to make sure a monkey or other animal is not being a pest to people. They won't care if a monkey is being kept chained or caged.

In fact, Perhilitan is not against the keeping of captive monkeys, but they require that the keeper have a license (few do) and they are supposed to ensure the monkeys are kept under humane conditions. No-one at Perhilitan has been able to define for me what their standards for humane conditions are, but I know that they will confiscate monkeys in certain cases.

As development encroaches further and further into the monkeys' forest habitat, more people are going to have a chance to catch monkeys. The abuse is only going to increase unless we persuade the government and the public to change their attitude.

Public pressure -- an outcry against the inhumanity of keeping monkeys as captives -- is the only thing that will convince the government and its agency, Perhilitan, to change the way they perceive the issue. Please help the monkeys by reporting every captive you see to the SPCA and Perhilitan.

We need to make it loud and clear: Monkeys are not criminals; they are not pets; they are not "advertising" for your food stall or other business. They are wild animals with the right to live their life in the wild.

Categories: Animal Welfare