Activists slam show where monkeys are forced to perform tricks for tourists in Thailand
Activists slam show where monkeys are forced to perform tricks for tourists in Thailand

Heartbreaking footage shows how monkeys are chained up while being forced to perform cruel tricks for crowds of tourists.

The primates are dressed in colourful dresses before having thick layers of makeup applied to their skin and entertaining visitors to the zoo in Ratchaburi, western Thailand.

Trainers then make the dejected monkeys jump through spiked hoops and choke them with tight ropes around their necks while sitting on the shoulders of tourists while they pose for selfies.

Others have to spin a burning metal pole, mimic karaoke singers by being tricked into licking toy microphones or play with coconuts by throwing them in hoops.

When the crowds have gone home, many of the monkeys lay on the dirty wooden floor with glum expressions as they pick at their skin, waiting to be fed.

Responding to the video from the Chang Puak Camp that was recorded this month, animal 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 rights group, backed by Baywatch star Pamela Anderson, said the monkeys in the video are likely to have had their teeth removed to ''render them incapable of defending themselves''.

While many are usually ''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.'' ''Exhibitors who force animals to perform do so because they profit from it, but it's the animals who suffer,'' Mr Baker added.

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.

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 have been repeatedly criticised for its treatment of the animals, including bears that are kept in dirty enclosures.

Zoos that 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 a spike.

But PETA's Jason Barker said more effort is needed from websites such as Airbnb and TripAdvisor to sever their ties with such outlets.

He said: ''Sadly, history has shown us that we can't rely on governments to protect animals, especially in countries like Thailand, where animal welfare laws are weak.

''No one monitors living conditions, pre-production training sessions, maternal separation, or what happens to animals when they're no longer used by the entertainment industry.

''The world is outraged by gimmicky animal acts, which is why so many animal circuses are closing their doors and countries are banning them.

Companies like Airbnb and TripAdvisor are in the process of banning direct-contact activities that abuse and exploit wild animals.

''Public opinion has changed, and forcing wild animals to perform is no longer the way to draw a crowd, but there's still much work to do.

All travel companies need to stop promoting cruel shows and zoos, and tourists must stop buying tickets to them, opting instead to see animals in their natural habitats - the only place where they belong.''