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Rescued monkeys to be released into the wild
The city administration is set to release dozens ofrehabilitated street performance monkeys rescued last year into the wild
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The city administration is set to release dozens of rehabilitated street performance monkeys rescued last year into the wild.
Governor Joko 'Jokowi' Widodo said on Thursday that his office would arrange the release of the monkeys, most of which were afflicted with tuberculosis and hepatitis when they were rescued from their owners. They had been treated at Ragunan animal and fish treatment center in South Jakarta.
'After being declared healthy, the monkeys will be released into the woods. An alternative will be Thousand Islands,' Jokowi told reporters at City Hall on Thursday.
Jakarta Marine Affairs and Agriculture Agency head Ipih Ruyani said that as many as 67 monkeys out of 83 monkeys rescued throughout 2013 were set to be released. 'We will release them on the islands of Tikus, Damar and Bokor [Thousand Islands] once the weather is good,' she said, adding that the remaining 16 were still being treated for tuberculosis.
Previously, the Ragunan Zoo management had refused to take the rescued monkeys, fearing they would infect other animals.
Some suggested that the monkeys be exterminated, an idea that the governor opposed.
'Why would we kill the monkeys we saved from the streets?' he said.
Jokowi has aimed to clear the capital of monkey street performances, which were considered a form of animal abuse, by 2014.
