Monkeys have been
trained to do various acts and many times we see them on streets
chained forced to do some tough acts – through rigorous training – and reading
this report, it is clear that it is through cruel acts that they are forced to
do many works aping humans !
MailOnline reports
that chained-up monkeys in south-east Asia could be picking the coconuts used
to make the various trendy brands of water and oil sold in health food stores
and supermarkets across the world.Baby monkeys are stolen away from their mothers,
who are often shot by hunters, and sent to special schools where they are
taught to pick as many as 1,000 coconuts a day, says the report. Many of the coconut-based products, which
have become the must-have for healthy eaters and celebrities alike, are sourced
from Thailand where the majority of coconuts are picked by these
cruelly-treated animals, reports claim.Several major brands that MailOnline
investigated source their products from Thailand, as well as the south-east
Asian nations of Indonesia and the Philippines.
These coconut oils
and waters have been espoused by several celebrities who blog about their
health benefits and use them as nutritious alternatives in their 'free-from'
bakes.And nearly every supermarket or grocery store now features coconut water,
making the whole industry worth around a billion pounds.But as demand grows, so
does the abuse of macaque monkeys who suffer 'serious psychological damage' as
a result of being chained up 24-hours-a-day !!
Animal charity Wild
Futures has told MailOnline that chaining the animals and forcing them to do
menial tasks all day long damages their mental state. More cruel because the little ones are
abducted from their mothers as babies, and taken to special schools where they are chained up and trained to pick
coconuts. Many coconut water companies
source their product south-east Asian countries like Indonesia, where 18m
tonnes of coconuts are harvested every year, and Thailand, which produces just
over one million tonnes annually.It is unknown how many of the coconuts used to
make the products are picked by monkeys.
The Bangkok Post claims that if the drink sourced
from Thailand, the coconuts were 'most likely' picked by monkeys.Some monkeys
are known to work from 8am to 5pm and only stop for a short break on rainy days
and Sundays.Monkeys are taught to spin the coconut with both hands and feet to
dislodge the coconut quickly. The
monkey's handler hold the rope which is tied to a chain around its neck, as it
climbs the tree and throws coconuts down.Once it has emptied the tree, the
monkey's handler yanks the chain tied around the its neck to make it climb back
down. When they are not working, their
owners place a muzzle on their faces and shackle them to a tree stump or a shed
- restricting their movement and interaction with other monkeys.
These monkeys are
shown off to tourists as amusing spectacles by their owners who claim the
animals enjoy climbing and picking fruit.But chaining them up the
socially-intelligent creatures, and forcing them to carry out menial tasks,
causes 'lasting psychological damage', Claire Turnbull of the Wild Futures
monkey sanctuary told MailOnline. The First Monkey School in SuratThani,
Thailand, describes how it turns wild monkeys into coconut-harvesting employees
on its website.It says the monkey should be comfortable in its surroundings,
even though the images and video on the website show the animal chained up.
The monkeys are
first taught how to rotate coconuts - which helps loosen them from trees.A
trainer starts by turning the coconut which has been placed on a pole and soon,
the monkey will become 'curious' and want to copy them.Once it has learned how
to rotate the coconut with its hands and feet, the trainer will simulate a real
situation by hanging it from a bamboo rod decorated with some coconut
leaves.The website says the monkey 'will never climb into a coconut tree
without a line' - which is tethered around its neck - so it must learn to free
itself should that line become stuck.This is method takes between three and six
months to teach and costs £108.Some monkeys then qualify for 'secondary school'
where they are taught to pick coconuts and put them in a bag, which they will
carry to any place the owner wants.This takes another six months and costs the
owner £450.The highest level of education offered in this establishment is
called 'high school', where they teach the monkey to do 'practically everything
the owner wants'.
Activists claim
that : 'By keeping them socially isolated, on chains or in small cages, monkeys
can develop a host of abnormal behaviours which range from "extreme
submission" to self-harming behavior.'As they mature, primates naturally
become aggressive. In order to keep them submissive, primates are typically
subjected to abusive training methods which make them anxious and fearful.
Humans and their
cruel methods … !!
With regards – S.
Sampathkumar
5th Oct 2015.
