CRUELTY at Indonésia

(Article published at Época Magazine)

photo: The female orangutan Mutia, who was found chained inside a drain. The species is threatened to extinction

Mutia, a 17 year-old female orangutan, was found by an animal defense NGO inside the drain of a fabric industry at the city of Medan. She was chained and seemed to be ill. In spite of being considered illegal in the country, it\’s common to have orangutans as pets in Indonesia. According to neighbors, other two who lived in the industry had died. The animals are caught in the tropical forests of Borneu and Sumatra, the last remained natural habitat of the species. Apart from hunting, the species faces deforestation and civilization growth. The orangutans\’ population has been reduced in 86% in the last 50 years. ONU\’s scientists believe that the species will be completely extinct by 2012.