An
orangutan that amused visitors to her Malaysian zoo by smoking cigarette butts
thrown into her cage is being forced to go cold turkey, a keeper said Monday.
Authorities seized the orangutan, named Shirley, along with a
tiger and other animals from a state-run zoo in the southern state of Johor
last week after they were found to have been kept in poor conditions.
Shirley, believed to be more than 20 years old, has been
transferred to Malacca Zoo where she will be forced to kick the habit, said the
institution's director Ahmad Azhar Mohammed.
"When we brought Shirley here, she is just like a normal
orangutan... But orangutans are very smart animals. They will follow what
people do," he told AFP.
He said "irresponsible visitors" would throw lit
cigarette butts into Shirley's cage at the Johor Zoo, which she would pick up
and smoke.
Ahmad Azhar said Shirley was expected to stay at the Malacca
Zoo for about a month before being transferred to a rehabilitation centre in
Sarawak state on Borneo island, where orangutans still live in the wild.
Malaysia has pledged to better protect animals from abuse and
illegal trade, which critics say still flourishes in the Southeast Asian
country.
Earlier this month, police rescued about 300 cats from a
pet-boarding business after its operators left them without adequate food and
water and in filthy cages for days.
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Source : AFP
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