JAAN has fought for years to ban dancing monkeys. Our continues efforts have paid off: dancing monkeys have been banned in Jakarta since 2013, in West Java since 2016 and on national level since 2019.
Dancing monkeys are forced to perform tricks for the public. The macaques wear doll clothes and masks to resemble people as much as possible. The abuse they undergo to learn the tricks are cruel and inhumane.
In recent years, thanks to your donations, we were able to rescue and release hundreds of ex-dancing monkeys after a successful rehabilitation process.
Despite the national ban, there are still places in Indonesia where dancing monkeys are common. We will continue to fight until the last monkey has left the street.
Read our full monkey rehabilitation process in the 36 page book 'The Long Journey to Freedom' (dancing monkeys, pet monkeys, and poaching and illegal trade.
A short summary of this program's activities
Locating and closing training centers
Dance monkeys are forced to perform tricks for the public. The macaques wear doll clothes and masks to resemble people as much as possible. The abuse they undergo to learn the tricks are cruel. During training, they are chained to a wall and then have to learn to stand on two legs for a long time. Their arms are tied on their back. With a metal ring around the neck with two chains attached to two posts, the animals must remain standing. In our battle against dancing monkeys, our team investigates where training centers are located. These can be dismantled together with the national police, after which the macaques can be confiscated.
Monkey rehabilitation
The rehabilitation process usually takes one year. The monkeys arrive in a terrible state: they are extremely skinny, have broken tails or ingrown chains. Some have infections in their mouth because their teeth have been pulled out. Others have serious chronic diseases such as tuberculosis. Some, unfortunately, do not survive.
Release into the wild
In recent years we were able to release hundreds of monkeys in protected forest areas. To find suitable territory, the team spends months exploring nature. For example, release is not possible within the territory of existing monkey groups. Now the monkeys can be monkeys again and leave their dark past behind them.
A small glimpse of this program
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JAAN relies on the loving and generous support of all animal lovers in Indonesia and the rest of the word.
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