Aside from signing and sharing this petition, follow us on Twitter to take additional action to demand change at Zoo Negara: @fotorangutans. We have contacted PERHILITAN, the wildlife department, to ask what action will be taken. Updates will be posted here and on our Twitter page.
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Zoo Negara, Malaysia's most popular zoo, apparently has a dark side to it - housing orangutans and chimpanzees in possibly cruel conditions while not complying with the law. Sign and share this petition on your social media outlets to help the apes.
The zoo is in the Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur. It is a member of the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums (WAZA). In 2019 a Malaysian media article indicated that the zoo would be investigated by the Malaysian anti-corruption authorities for "possible corruption."
In late 2018 we contacted the zoo to question the keeping of chimps and several orangutans (ten in total) in their night time holding dens during the zoo's closing hours.
There are 38 indoor dens and two outdoor cages for the chimps and orangutans. The size of 37 of the indoor dens are so small they are not compliant with the 2013 Malaysian zoo law. Most of the apes are kept among the 37 indoor dens outside of the zoo's operating hours.
In January 2020, we informed the zoo that the dens are too small to allow the apes to exhibit natural behaviours and ensure their psychological wellbeing.
We estimate that every day, the apes spend more time in the dens than in an outdoor enclosure, as the zoo is closed between 5.00 pm and 9.00 am the day after.
Till this day, the zoo has not announced any action to provide law-abiding, humane living conditions for the chimps and orangutans. Millions of dollars have been spent on the zoo's pandas, animals which were imported from China in 2014.
Great apes are highly intelligent animals, and they can suffer when mistreated. Sign and share this petition to demand that Zoo Negara urgently takes action to provide the orangutans and chimps with the life they need and deserve, and abide by the law.
We have also demanded the zoo to stop the breeding of its chimps and orangutans. We believe that great apes do not belong in captivity, and that great ape conservation should be about protecting their habitat.
www.fotomalaysia.org
