Animal rights activists have slammed an Indonesian zoo after an orangutan was caught smoking in a video that recently emerged online.
Posted by activist Marison Guciano Monday (March 5), the video, which has gone viral on various social media sites, shows the orangutan named Odon smoking after a visitor lit the cigarette and flicked his half-smoked one into the animal's enclosure at Bandung Zoo.
Marison Guciano, the founder of the Indonesia Animal Welfare Society, strongly criticised the smoking great ape incident as he slammed the zoo authorities for lack of supervision and education.
Guciano blamed the man who threw the cigarette into the primate's enclosure but also said that incident happened because of the "weak control" by zoo management, according to an Associated Press report.
"Almost all zoos are in poor condition... from the cages and feeding needs to the animals' health," he added.
Zoo spokesman Sulhan Syafi'I said the incident was really regrettable and they have also reported it to the police. "There's actually a sign at the location which says visitors are not allowed to give food and cigarettes to the animals," Sulhan said.
The Indonesian zoo had previously made headlines because of another incident of negligence. They were accused of starving animals after a video showed sun bears begging for food.
A change.org petition also was filed calling for Bandung zoo's closure. It has received nearly 1 million signatures. The zoo was temporarily shut down in 2016 after a Sumatran elephant that died was found with bruises on its body.
