A video that depicts an orangutan smoking a cigarette discarded by a zoo patron has gone viral …
… and not in the positive sense, either, according to many animal rights activists.
Indeed, the following footage has sparked international anger toward this zoo"s alleged mistreatment of animals.
The video was shot by a visitor last Sunday at Indonesia"s Bandung Zoo, which is approximately 90 miles southeast of the capital, Jakarta.
As you"re about to see, it captures a young man taking a few puffs from a cigarette and then tossing the still-lit item to the ground of an open-air enclosure.
It"s at this point that a 22-year old orangutan named Odon actually picks up the cigarette and begins to inhale it, drawing immense laughter from the crowd.
But many folks out there do not find this incident to be funny.
A handful of animal rights organizations have condemned the visitor’s carelessness and the zoo’s apparent lack of supervision and education against such acts.
However…
"There"s actually a sign at the location which says visitors are not allowed to give food and cigarettes to the animals," said a zoo spokesperson in response to this scandal.
Still, though, Marison Guciano, founder of the Indonesia Animal Welfare Society, went after the zoo"s management for "weak control"and generally criticized the place for a lack of welfare standards.
Elsewhere, about one million people have signed a Change.org petition to "Shut down the Bandung Zoo now!" following the orangutan incident.
It reminds us, to some extent, of the extreme outcry that took place in May of 2016 after a gorilla at the Cincinnati Zoo had to be shot to death because a toddler climbed into its enclosure.
Remember this frightening story?
Scary stuff.
But an orangutan smoking is just funny stuff… right?
Or wrong?
Check out the video below and decide for yourself.
