Dodo was a "dancing monkey". As cute as it sounds, there is a tragic reality hidden behind this curious concept - around 3000 monkeys are removed from their home in the Indonesian forest by humans who exploit them to earn money. The animals are forced to dance and do acrobatic tricks all day long, suffering an incredibly sad existence.
Source: JAAN
Spending his days on two wooden stilts, Dodo had a heavy chain hanging around his neck which the men would pull on to make him start dancing. His act involved mounting a bicycle, playing a musical instrument or doing acrobatic and dance movements.
Source: JAAN
This macaque was constantly performing and almost was never permitted a break. In fact, when he wasn't dancing, Dodo would be forced to beg for money and hand it over to their owners (or perhaps we should rather say: their torturers).
Source: JAAN
The training process for these "dancing monkeys" is cruel and intense. They are taught to walk on their back legs by having their arms tied behind their back and attaching them to a chain by their necks - that way, if they tried to bend or sit down, they would suffocate.
Source: JAAN
And this was only the first step of the training process... During four to six months the macaques are victims of a wide variety of sadistic strategies to teach them the necessary skills. Each day, they are tortured for hours on end and the survivors of this gruelling period are destined to spend the next five or ten years performing for humans. They become less sell-worthy the older they get, and the monkeys are then sold for their meat.
The metal chain around their necks would never be taken off. More often than not it starts growing under their skin and into their flesh, as they slowly become on with their cruel means op entrapment, causing diverse infections and diseases.
Source: JAAN
Since 2009 the Jakarta Animal Aid Network (JAAN) has been fighting to ban dancing monkeys in Indonesia. In 2013, they succeeded in the capital, Jakarta, and in 2016, in the region of Java.
In order to ensure that the law is followed, the NGO is coordinating with the local police services. It was during one of their operations that they stumbled upon Dodo in the town of Bangung, before freeing him from his torturer. After being transferred to the association's medical center, the monkey finally had his heavy metal chain removed. Femke den Haas, cofounder of JAAN, told The Dodo:
Dodo was in very poor condition. He was very, very depressed, as if the life had been beaten out of him. He didn't give any happy reaction to anything, except for food. For the rest of the time during meals, Dodo would sit depressed in a corner of the cage, despite all efforts of the caretakers.
Source: JAAN
Unsurprisingly, the monkey eats as if the food were going to be taken away from him each time he gets his hands on a meal. At the JAAN shelter, Dodo is gradually starting to pick up weight and trying to get over his traumatic past. Until he is completely ready to be released back into the wild, the macaque will be taken care of here.
Source: JAAN
Den Haas and her team release the monkeys deep in the forest once they're ready, to avoid them ever being picked up by traffickers again.
The association's next step will be to put an end to the practice of dancing monkeys across the whole country. If you'd like to support them in this initiative, make a donation here.
Source: JAAN
H/t: TheDodo
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