A chained-up monkey is forced to lift weights, do press-ups and swim in a pool while training for a tourist show in heartbreaking footage.
The abused animal, which reportedly had its teeth removed, was secretly recorded by animal rights group, Peta, at a zoo in Phuket, southern Thailand, last month.
Undercover footage shows a handler forcing the monkey to lift metal weights above its head then holding its feet down so it will do sit-ups.
The monkey then has to slam-dunk balls into a net, ride a bicycle, stand on a tiny wooden stool and walk like a human.
A chained-up monkey is forced to lift weights, do press-ups and swim in a pool while training for a tourist show in heartbreaking footage
It has a metal collar and appears to be in distress while it is dragged around the squalid building in temperatures higher than 30C.
The monkey is also believed to have had its teeth removed, ‘rendering him incapable of defending himself’.
The animal welfare campaigners targeted the venue after previous footage emerged of the appalling treatment of monkeys in the tourism industry in Thailand.
Peta are now vowing continued pressure on similar centres that abuse monkeys and force them to perform ‘meaningless tricks for tourists’.
Undercover footage shows a handler holding the monkey’s feet down so it will do sit-ups
It has a metal collar and appears to be in distress while it is dragged around the squalid building in temperatures higher than 30C
The group claim the monkeys are also left isolated in wire cages when they aren’t being used to entertain tourists.
They said: ‘Ning Nong is treated like a money-making toy – forced to perform meaningless tricks for tourists and then left isolated in a wire cage when he’s not being used.
‘This will only end when people supporting experiences that use animals.
‘Videos like this one and the all the footage ViralPress have released are helping to change public opinion.’
Footage shows the monkey standing on a stool and wearing a metal collar
Footage taken earlier this year at a similar tourist attraction in Ratchaburi, western Thailand, showed monkeys wearing dresses and makeup being forced to spin fire and jump through hoops.
Responding to the earlier video from the Chang Puak Camp, animals rights group PETA said ‘the world is outraged by gimmicky animal acts’ and called on more travel companies to cut ties with such shows.
Jason Baker, the group’s senior vice president of international campaigns, said: ‘Monkeys don’t choose to walk on their hind legs, wear clothes, ride bikes, or perform other meaningless and humiliating tricks – they’ve simply learned to fear what will happen if they don’t.
‘Circus trainers break monkeys’ spirits using violent methods that rely on the fear of punishment. They force animals into a lifetime of slavery.’
The animal welfare campaigners targeted the venue after previous footage emerged of the appalling treatment of monkeys in the tourism industry in Thailand
The monkey is also believed to have had its teeth removed, ‘rendering him incapable of defending himself’
Mr Baker said that many of the monkeys are ‘snatched from their mothers at birth’ before being forced into a life where they are ‘]’deprived of everything that’s natural and important to them’.
He added: ‘Exhibitors who force animals to perform do so because they profit from it, but it’s the animals who suffer.’
Thailand, a country in southeast Asia, is among the world’s most popular tourist destinations but that has lead to a notoriously barbaric industry of zoos, animal shows and elephant camps where holidaymakers pay to ride the jumbos.
Peta are now vowing continued pressure on similar centres that abuse monkeys and force them to perform ‘meaningless tricks for tourists’
In Bangkok, there’s a shopping mall where a gorilla named Bua Noi is kept on the top floor in filthy conditions.
While in nearby Samut Prakan, a crocodile farm and elephant show has been repeatedly criticised for its treatment of the animals, including bears that are kept in dirty enclosures.
Zoos were tourists can pose for selfies with tigers and ‘camps’ where elephants perform tricks have also been slammed.
In August last year, Asia’s biggest travel company, Ctrip, stopped promoting Samut Prakan Crocodile Farm and Zoo after video showed barren pens and animals jabbed with spike.