PETA highlights sad reality behind Punch the monkey

The People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) has highlighted the sad reality behind the Punch the monkey hype.

It seems like the entire internet is gushing over Punch, the baby monkey, who is a Japanese macaque housed at the Ichikawa City Zoo in Japan.

People all over the world have become seriously invested in the primate's well-being after videos circulated online of him being 'bullied' by other monkeys after being rejected by his mother at birth back in July last year.

Following the maternal rejection, zookeepers offered Punch comfort in the form of an orangutan teddy bear as he adjusted to living with the monkey troop since last month.

Online footage has tugged on the heartstrings of seemingly everyone after videos on social media showed him being dragged, thrown and pushed around by the other monkeys in the enclosure.

The zoo has since issued an update on little Punch, reassuring the concerned public that this behaviour is nothing to worry about, explaining that 'although Punch has been scolded many times by other monkeys, no single monkey has shown serious aggression toward him'.

The zoo's official statement on X also addressed the 'various opinions concerning the environment of the monkey mountain,' adding: "Animal welfare is the top priority in the current environment, and we are doing our best to improve the monkeys' living conditions."

The zoo also explained that making a 'radical change' to the monkey mountain environment would upset the macaques and 'may lead to Punch being bullied'.

"For this reason, we would like to prioritise Punch becoming a member of the troop safely while improving the monkeys' health conditions as much as possible," the statement concluded.

The spokesperson signed off with: "By observing the conditions, we can implement measures to improve the environment for Japanese macaques on the monkey mountain. We ask for your continued support for Punch and the other troop monkeys."

PETA has since issued a statement on the matter, via the Independent.

Jason Baker, the Asia president for PETA, criticised what people have been calling 'cute' or heart-warming', highlighting that the viral videos show a much more tragic reality: an animal coping with 'isolation and loss'.

He outlined: "Zoos are not sanctuaries. They are places where animals are confined, deprived of autonomy, and denied the complex environments and social lives they would have in the wild."

Baker continued: "Like all macaques, Punch should be growing up in a tight-knit family group, learning vital social skills and exploring a rich, natural habitat – not seeking solace from a toy in a concrete pit."

He aptly pointed out that this is far from the first time a zoo animal has become viral, like Moo Deng, the pygmy hippo, only for 'public fascination' to 'quickly fade'.

"Internet fame does not change the reality of captivity," Baker said. "It only fuels a cycle in which facilities breed and display babies to drive ticket sales, while the animals pay the lifelong price."

The PETA president then called on the zoo to send Punch to an animal sanctuary 'where he could live in a more natural environment with space, privacy, and the chance to form appropriate social bonds'.

Tyla has reached out to PETA for further comment.