Authorities in Indonesia are being urged by animal rights group from all over the world to save the baby monkeys that were recently pictured being chained by the neck and were sold in a horror wet market.
The Jakarta Animal Aid Network (JAAN) is currently pushing for action against the crime as long-tailed macaques are being openly sold at the Satria Bird Market in Denpasar.
The monkeys are brought in from the Sumatra Island.
The monkeys are currently classified as vulnerable species and despite their classification, they are yet to have protection in Indonesia.
The organization claims that many tourists and visitors end up buying these monkeys out of pity however they do not know how to take care of the animals after.
In a statement that was released by JAAN, they said:
In Bali, we see a large number of primates openly sold on the Satria Market. All our reports to the authorities requesting intervention remain un-responded.
Selling baby monkeys in these types of markets are actually a violation of existing regulations, which includes Article 302 on animal abuse under the Criminal Code (KUHP) and the 2019 Law on Farming and Animal Health, however, they are still being sold.
In the span of 2 months, authorities have confiscated around 36 baby primates that were en-route to being shipped to Java and Bali.
JAAN added:
This cruelty has to stop and we request a serious intervention of the Bali government to protect primates and Indonesian wildlife.
The thing is, authorities have made it clear that they are having a hard time enforcing the law on wildlife trade at the wet market.
Balai Konservasi Sumber Daya Alam (BKSDA) the Nature Conservation Agency of Indonesia said:
For the trade of this baby primate, BKSDA is facing difficulties in monitoring because the species are small, tame, and easy to hide. The perpetrators of this wildlife trade can only be charged with animal abuse under the Criminal Code (KUHP). But there must be irrefutable evidence of abuse.
Let’s just hope all this stops in the near future.