Watch: Kickboxing orangutans at a parody show in Thailand theme park angers activists
Female orangutans dressed in mini-skirts and bikinis are trained to kiss and cheer them on as they fight.
Animal rights violations are not uncommon in Thailand, where “animal tourism” has seen many dark shades. A show of orangutans kickboxing (video above), the primary attraction at Safari World, a sprawling safari theme park in the outskirts of Bangkok, hits another low.
For a bit of fun, the handlers make the orangutans parody humans playing in a ring. If the idea of orangutans kickboxing with the words “Las Vegas” screaming in the background is not bad enough, there are female orangutan cheerleaders dressed in mini-skirts and bikinis who “kiss” and cheer them on, even pretending to seduce them (watch below). Meanwhile, orangutans on the sidelines drink beer and throw cans at the fighters.
Each round of the fight lasts up to 30 minutes, until one of the orangutans is knocked down. The organisers insist that the show is all staged – just like WWE – and that the orangutans only pretend to fight. However, animal rights activists said in a petition to ban the activity: “When you see these animals performing what are completely unnatural tricks...they’re not doing it because they want to, they’re doing it because they’re afraid not to.”