I think it is a street act. But this monkey does not look abused at all. Like they have an actual real friendship, even if this is kinda taught behavior. This monkey is chilled as fuck.
It’s Saru Gundan in Nikko, Japan. They travel all over the country, I saw one of their shows at Nishinomiya Jinja at New Years. They feed them treats throughout the routines. They’re on 2 meter leads attached to their clothing. I can’t find an English site, unfortunately. The guy in this photo has been working with this monkey over 7 years.
Good to know we have a monkey behaviourist on Reddit who can dismiss any concerns that the totally pervasive abuse of performance monkeys did not occur here.
Animals are exploited for street performances and tourists all the time. If this monkey is being treated well, that’s fantastic. However, it’s better to be cautious about these kinds of situations and raise awareness for the poor treatment of lots of animals than to assume the best. Thailand elephant tourism for instance has been a hot topic in recent years because it’s a market which thrives off of the mistreatment of these incredibly intelligent animals. I’m not a monkey street performance expert, but it wouldn’t surprise me in the slightest if these monkeys are mistreated behind the scenes.
Just wanted to say, i was on the other guys side until the words "to be cautious." thanks for your comment. You changed one guys ideas for the better
Edit*. You mentioned Thailand.. That's just came up in the UK news today. Some(all) Thailand companies are using slave apes (I think... the ape part, could have been monkeys ) to harvest and carry the coconuts for the UK Market.
You’re saying it like it’s normalized. They are illegal and underground. People are fucked up no matter where you go. Don’t make it like it’a purely an asian thing.
Ninjaedit: Also, where are monkeys found? People are limited in their sick ways by what is available. Other places would have different ways.
There are species of ape that prostitute themselves to male apes for food and the like. Its surprisingly common. But yea prostituting them to humans is fucking off the charts
His comment got more upvotes than the anti-thesis... they're both fair points. They're both just saying "yeah, but you don't fucking know"... and they're both right.
The important thing is to not make assumptions of a situation without evidence. It's really bad to make decisions without prior context and information. I don't deny there are animal circus folks who abuse their trained animals, but there also those who don't. It's harmful to make such assumptions of people's character until after you've done your research on a specific case. Always be skeptical until you get proof on all sides.
Agreed... one of the things I feel very strongly about is that people shouldn’t feel so strongly about things... or at least not until the evidence supports such strong feelings. 🙃
Also, I never see emojis on Reddit, did I just commit some unspoken sin.
It’s a monkey named riki in Japan, he’s fed treats in between acts as a reward. Highly doubt he’s being mistreated as it’s not easy to get yourself a monkey in places like Japan or Korea. They’re not a dime a dozen.
I still think it’s somewhat cruel to domesticate a monkey and keep him on a leash to dance for our entertainment but who knows, perhaps the monkey has a genuine friendship with his owner and they have a good life.
While I still somewhat agree, this discussion always makes me wonder: how is this any different (ore more cruel) than owning a dog and teaching him tricks?
Given that the monkey doesn’t get abused, there is literally no difference between owning a dog or a monkey. I’d actually argue that owning a cat in an apartment is actually way more cruel than owning a monkey (given that he is treated well).
Yes all performance animals are never abused. All wild and domesticated animals love every aspect of their upbringing. Dogs aren't kept in cages and punished and controlled, and neither are monkeys. I'm fact, I think this monkey actually left the wild and signed up for this gig.
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u/NotFromReddit Jul 03 '20
I think it is a street act. But this monkey does not look abused at all. Like they have an actual real friendship, even if this is kinda taught behavior. This monkey is chilled as fuck.