T

he Jakarta Animal Aid Network (JAAN) welcomed the decision by Governor Joko '€œJokowi'€ Widodo to prohibit topeng monyet (masked monkey shows) across the city by next year.

'€œWe are very happy with this decision because we have been fighting against this practice since 2009,'€ JAAN founder Femke den Haas said on Monday.

She said that the organization had lobbied the city administration since 2009, when the governor was Fauzi Bowo and explained that he had given her organization his backing, but nothing as bold as Jokowi'€™s action.

Den Haas said that after unraveling much red-tape, Fauzi'€™s administration collaborated with her organization in 2011 to confiscate 50 monkeys used for the shows in South Jakarta.

'€œThe move successfully reduced the number of masked monkeys in the city to 300 last year from 350 in 2011. However, there was no strong follow up after that,'€ she said.

She added that Jokowi'€™s administration, on the other hand, showed stronger commitment to fight against the animal abuse through this kind of show. '€œThis is a very good progress that we very much appreciate,'€ she said.

JAAN'€™s advisory board member, Pramudya Harzani, said it was the right time to take such decisive action because the city had neglected the rights of these animals.

He added that most monkeys used for the shows were usually tortured so that they were obedient to their handler.

Pramudya said that the practice posed health risks for both the monkeys and the handlers.

He explained that monkeys with tuberculosis (TB) could transmit the disease to humans and vice versa.

'€œLast year, in a housing complex in Prumpung, East Jakarta, many handlers and monkeys lived in dense and dirty neighborhoods. We found that some people had contracted TB from their monkeys,'€
he added.

Jokowi said on Friday '€” in an attempt to put a stop to animal abuse and to prevent the spread of dangerous diseases '€” the city administration would ban the show in the city by buying all the monkeys used for the show from their owners.

'€œWe will buy all the monkeys and donate them to Ragunan Zoo in South Jakarta. We have discussed it with the zoo'€™s management,'€ he said, without elaborating on the details of the arrangement.

Jokowi also said the administration would offer employment-training opportunities to monkey handlers in support of the policy.

The city administration will display '€œFree Jakarta from Topeng Monyet'€ campaign posters across the city. They will explain that abusing the primates would result in seven years in prison, as stated in the Criminal Code. (koi)