Jakarta Says No to Dancing Monkey Shows Slug: Indonesia monkey Date: 12/11/2013 Reporter: Erric Permana INTRO Next

year, you wont see this on the streets of Jakarta any more.... SFX topeng monyet attraction The Jakarta government has banned all roadside monkey performances, locally known as topeng monyet. The shows involve monkeys wearing funny masks and performing acrobatic tricks. The governor of Jakarta, Joko Widodo, has ordered the ban and security forces are conducting raids to rescue the monkeys. The plan is to relocate them to Ragunan Zoo, where they will be well looked after. Erric Permana has the story from Jakarta. TEXT SFX registration Dozens of monkey handlers are waiting in line to be registered by local authorities in Jakarta. 30-year-old Badri joined the business a year ago. He has handed over his monkey to the authorities. Badri clip 1 (Male, Indonesia): What else can I do? I want the government to give some money so I can open a new business. The government will buy each monkey from the monkey handlers and caretakers for 90 US dollars. And the handlers will be provided with vocational training to help find new jobs. Cecep, who has been earning money from his monkeys, says he will hold the government to its promise. Cecep clip 1 (Male, Indonesia): I know about the promise from the media... that my monkeys will be traded in for a new job. But I dont know what kind of job it will be

The governor of Jakarta, Joko Widodo, says monkey handlers will not be punished for their use of animals. Joko Widodo clip 1 (Male, Indonesia): The monkey performances are obstructing public order because the shows are on the streets. Monkeys might have rabies too. Thats why were banning monkey performances from the capital. The handlers will be taken care of after theyve been registered. Most of them are not from the area. Jakartas authorities have started raiding neighborhoods and confiscating the monkeys. Animal rights group have long claimed the monkeys are being mistreated by their handlers. They say the animals are tortured to remain obedient and their teeth are pulled so they cant bite. ... something that handlers like Cecep deny. Cecep clip 2 (Male, Indonesia): The media says that we torture the monkeys. Thats not true. At home we even feed them milk. The media are exaggerating, just ask any handler around. We take care of the monkeys. When theyre sick, we spend up to 9 US dollars on them. Which is more that we spend when we get sick. SFX video from JAAN But in a video recorded by the Jakarta Animal Aid Network JAAN shows how the monkeys are trained to stand-up like humans. Hamdan is one of the monkey trainers in Jakarta. Hamdan clip 1 (Male, Indonesia): I will pay 100 US dollars for anybody who can train wild monkeys to stand on two feet! In the training, we tie its two hands to the back, and we push its neck to face the sky. Theyre not going to die because of that. It will only take an hour for the training. After that, we put them down again on their four legs and give them something to drink and eat. SFX monkey shelter The monkeys are then taken to a shelter near Ragunan Zoo in South Jakarta. There are already nearly 60 monkeys in cages and only staffs are allowed access. Sri Hartati from Jakartas Agriculture Office explains why. Sri clip 1 (Female, Indonesia): We understand that you all want to go inside. But the doctor says the monkeys are not clean yet. We havent done examining all of them. Some of them are sick.

Its so sterile inside that officers have to wear masks, a special uniform and clean their shoes before entering the shelter. Inside the officers are taking blood samples from the monkeys. Quarantine officer Fahmi says the blood will show whether or not the monkeys have infectious diseases. Fahmi clip 1 (Male, Indonesia): Were checking for TB and hepatitis. They will be taken to Ragunan Zoo in the future, so were checking their condition now. The monkeys will be quarantined for up to 6 months for a medical check-up and will undergo a rehabilitation process. Sri clip 2 (Female, Indonesia): These monkeys have come from the streets. After several checks, we will group them. Monkeys live in a colony, so it might take some time for the rehabilitation process. Theyre all good now. Theyre happy. Their physical condition is more or less the same. Theyre playing inside. The monkey rehabilitation process will be carried out with the help of a local NGO, the Jakarta Animal Aid Network, or JAAN. JAAN spokesman Benvika says some of the monkeys were found in miserable conditions. Benvika clip 1 (Male, Indonesia): 22 percent of monkeys have hepatitis, some have gum infections, or tuberculosis. And 100 percent of them have worms, many of them are very skinny. Ideally, JAAN would like to relocate the monkeys to an isolated island off the coast of Jakarta. But the Jakarta government has other plans, says Sri Hartati. Sri clip 3 (Female, Indonesia): The monkeys will be taken to Ragunan Zoo. There are many visitors there and many healthy animals. We have to be totally sure that these monkeys are healthy before sending them there. Were going to vaccinate them. The monkeys will be housed inside a one-hectar enclosure in the Ragunan zoo. Benvika from JAAN is asking for the government to build the new home for the monkeys in a setting which is as natural as possible. Benvika clip 2 (Male, Indonesia): Itd be good to have a semi-natural forest there for the monkeys. Or a man-made forest with some separators so the monkeys cant get out but are free to move around inside.

Following the move in Jakarta, authorities in Surakarta, in Central Java, are also planning to ban the masked monkey shows. This feature is produced by Erric Permana for Asia Calling.