The fate of a baby monkey in Japan, who became a social media star, illustrates the cruelty of zoos, according to the animal rights association PETA. But his misfortune brings happiness to the Ikea furniture chain, which markets the orangutan plush toy to which the little macaque clings.
Punch, a baby macaque abandoned by his mother, became a celebrity after footage surfaced showing him being harassed by other monkeys and seeking comfort from his stuffed orangutan at Ichikawa Zoo, near Tokyo.
“Zoos are not sanctuaries: they are places where animals are confined, deprived of autonomy and their familiar and social environment that they would have had in the wild,” declared the association PETA (For Ethics in the Treatment of Animals).
“As long as facilities continue to treat sentient beings as attractions, animals like Punch will continue to suffer in captivity,” Jason Baker, PETA’s Asia director, said in a statement. He requests the transfer of Punch to a more natural environment. Rejected by his mother, Punch was raised by humans when he was born in July and began training to join his kind recently.
His plight moved Internet users, giving rise to a community of devoted fans under the hashtag #HangInTherePunch.
Plush out of stock
At the same time, the Swedish furniture giant Ikea, manufacturer of the orangutan plush toy, has noted “unprecedented” interest and sales of this plush toy to which the little monkey clings “significantly” higher than normal. “The product is currently out of stock in some markets, notably in Japan and the United States,” the Ingka group, the holding company which controls most IKEA stores, told AFP by email.
During the long public holiday weekend in Japan, fans lined up to see Punch, Ichikawa Zoo reported on the X platform.
More than 5,000 visitors were recorded on Monday. The zoo said it had set up a restricted access zone around part of the monkey enclosure to reduce stress on the animals. Many people have asked how to donate, whether in cash or in kind, he added.
