A chained monkey has been filmed lifting weights, doing sit-ups and riding a bike just for the pleasure of tourists in #Thailand.
The shocking footage was released by animal rights group PETA Asia after being recorded in Phuket.
It shows the monkey named Ning Nong lifting a barbell above its head as its handler counts the reps.
The poor creature then performs sit-ups and even shoots a basketball through a hoop before being forced to ride a bike.
Other monkeys can be seen watching from inside cramped cages.
PETA Asia says the teeth of monkeys used in shows are usually removed to render them incapable of defending themselves.
Baby monkeys are often snatched from their mothers shortly after birth, the group added.
Neither the monkey or the mother ever fully recover from the trauma.
PETA Senior Vice President of International Campaigns Jason Baker said: “Videos like the one we’ve just released are helping to change public opinion.
“Forcing wild animals to perform is no longer the way to draw a crowd, but there’s still much work to be done.
“All travel companies need to stop promoting cruel shows and zoos, and tourists should stop buying tickets to them, opting instead to see animals in their natural habitats—the only place where they belong.”
It is not the first time Thai zoos have come under fire for their apparent mistreatment of animals.
Monkeys at Chang Puak Camp in Ratchaburi, western Thailand, were recently seen being forced to perform in dresses and make-up.
PETA called on travel companies to cut ties with such shows after the footage emerged.
Protesters have previously painted slogans on their naked bodies to protest the “world’s saddest zoo”.
Bangkok’s Pata Zoo gained its reputation after heartbreaking photos of gorilla Bua Noi surfaced.
The animal has been confined to a small concrete enclosure since 1988.
The zoo is situated on the sixth and seventh floors of a shopping centre in the Thai capital.
Calls to free chained tiger forced to pose for tourists’ photos in Thai zoo
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