Monkey Forced To Wear Doll Mask While Chained To Roadside

A disturbing video showing a monkey dressed as a blonde doll to 'entertain' tourists has appeared online.

In the clip, the monkey is chained to the roadside and holding a bucket to collect money from people passing by.

The video, which was reportedly filmed in Bogor, Indonesia, shows the monkey wearing a pink tracksuit and a full head mask of a blonde-haired girl wearing sunglasses, while music plays in the background.

The monkey stands around looking for tourists, while holding the blue bucket. Occasionally drivers drop cash in the bucket - at one point, someone hands the monkey some money and he takes it and put it in the bucket himself.

The act is reportedly known as Topeng Monyet, translated as Monkey's Mask, and sees macaques dressed as humans and doing a number of bizarre tasks such as riding bicycles. They're usually chained up so they can't escape.

Topeng Monyet was banned in Indonesia's capital city Jakarta after a campaign in 2013, however it is still common in other parts of the country.

Many of the monkeys rescued from Jakarta were unable to return to the forests that they were taken from because of severe physical and mental trauma.

After it was posted on social media, the video was flooded with comments from people who were horrified with the way the animal was being treated. One person wrote: "Poor monkey! Chained by his neck and tortured just to please human beings."

Animal rights group Animal Friends Jogja (AFJ) has previously called for a ban across the whole country. Angelina Pane from AJF said: "Our investigation reveals that the long-tailed macaques undergo three to six months of training in a process that is very cruel."

She also warned that the animals could pass diseases on to humans, noting that 11.3 percent of the long-tailed macaques used in the shows carried tuberculosis.

The website for the Jakarta Animal Aid Network (Jaan) previously said that the monkeys were taken from their forest home and brought to the so-called 'monkey village' where they are trained to perform.

Seriously though, it really is weird.

Featured Image Credit: News Dog Media

Topics: World News, Animals, monkey

Claire Reid

Claire is a journalist at LADbible who, after dossing around for a few years, went to Liverpool John Moores University. She graduated with a degree in Journalism and a whole load of debt. When not writing words in exchange for money she is usually at home watching serial killer documentaries surrounded by cats. You can contact Claire at [email protected]

@ClaireReid19