Animal welfare activists have lashed out against a North Korean zoo over their star attraction – a ‘chain-smoking’ chimpanzee called Azalea who smokes at least a pack a day.
The Associated Press published photos earlier this week, reporting that Azalea, 19, could light the cigarettes herself with a lighter or a lit cigarette thrown to her by her trainers. There is also now some footage of Azalea puffing away.
And all of this is being done in the name of “entertainment”, which has understandably disgusted and shocked the world.
According to officials at the Pyongyang zoo, Azalea doesn’t inhale the smoke.
But a primatologist interviewed by the Huffington Post, Frans B.M. de Waal, says that was highly unlikely, liking it to when former US president Bill Clinton said he didn’t inhale. De Waal also added that it was “animal cruelty”.
“Of course, it is as addictive and unhealthy [for primates] as it is for humans,” he told Huffington Post.
President of PETA, Ingrid Newkirk, told Huffington Post that this act of animal cruelty was part of a disturbingly growing trend in zoos around the world.
“How cruel to willfully addict a chimpanzee to tobacco for human amusement. Gradually, zoos are learning that spectacles such as chimpanzee tea parties, elephant rides and photo ops with tiger cubs are inappropriate and exploitative. The big question now is why are we keeping wild animals behind bars at all.”
Here’s the video posted on YouTube:
The North Korean Central Zoo only reopened in July and attracts thousands of visitors every day. It also has several other performing animals, including a monkey that slam dunks basketballs, dogs trained to appear as though they can do addition and subtraction on an abacus and doves that fly around and land on a woman skating on an indoor stage.
