Rescuers Save 31 Chained Dancing Monkeys Put Through Cruel Training

A group of neglected macaque monkeys will finally get to live on their terms.

On Oct. 22, World Animal Protection announced that with its support, the Jakarta Animal Aid Network (JAAN) recently rescued 31 macaque monkeys from one of the last remaining training facilities for dancing monkeys in Indonesia.

According to World Animal Protection, at a “monkey dance training village,” long-tailed macaques are chained and forced to learn to “dance” through starvation and abuse. Once the animals complete training, they are made to perform, which entails being chained and standing for hours, wearing uncomfortable outfits, and living in a small cage. Thankfully, the 31 monkeys saved by JAAN will avoid more suffering.

“These monkeys have endured one of the cruelest training regimes imaginable. After being stolen from their mothers as babies and tortured for months, their living nightmare is finally over,” Dr. Jan Schmidt-Burbach, the head of animal welfare and research at World Animal Protection, said in a statement.

“We look forward to the day when we can celebrate a nationwide ban on dancing monkeys. Macaques are wild animals that have the right to live in the wild. We’re happy that together with our partners at Jakarta Animal Aid Network (JAAN), we can give these monkeys a second chance,” Dr. Schmidt-Burbach added.

JAAN rescuers cut the chains of the 31 macaque monkeys being held at the training village and moved the animals to a rehabilitation center in Cikole, West Java. Here, the monkeys will receive round-the-clock care to help thing physically and emotionally recover from the abuse and neglect they’ve endured.

JAAN is hopeful that some of the former dancing monkeys will recover enough to return to the wild, where they were likely snatched from when they were young primates.

“They were terribly abused while being trained as a ‘dancing monkey’ and during the entertainment of tourists,” Femke den Haas, CEO at Jakarta Animal Aid Network, said. “It is such an incredible relief to see the dark boxes, in which the monkeys were kept when they were not performing, finally opened. It is really heartwarming to know that their journey to freedom has started, and they will be able to connect to each other and other primates and live the life they truly deserve.”

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All 31 of the rescued monkeys are now at JAAN’s rehabilitation center, undergoing a quarantine period to reduce the risk of disease transmission among the center’s animal residents. During this quarantine period, the primate will focus on improving their physical health with regular vet exams and care. Once the quarantine period is complete, the monkeys will be able to socialize and fully enjoy the spoils of their new rescue home.