Meet Arun Rangsi, one of IPPL's
Sanctuary Gibbons
Mr. Rodriguez conducted this investigation with financial assistance from IPPL
Barbary macaques are to be seen with their captors at the Djemaa elFna Square in Marrakech, Morocco, from 1 p.m. However they usually do not arrive until about 3 or 4 p.m., during the hottest hours of the day the temperature in Marrakech rises to more than 40 degrees centigrade (104 fahrenheit) on the square, which is devoid of trees.
A long day's work awaits the unfortunate macaques that does not end until between midnight and 2 a.m.
There are two groups working the macaques on the square. They walk among the visitors in the square. Visitors are scarce in the heat of the afternoon, but the square becomes very crowded after 6 p.m.
Each man firmly holds the chain attached to the collar around the neck of a macaque in one hand, and often he holds a stick in the other hand which he uses to force the animal to perform ridiculous circus tricks which the monkey often does not want to do.
The performance consists of the monkeys turning a few somersaults, obeying commands to "Sit" or "Stand up", eating a peanut held in the mouth of the trainer, and climbing onto the shoulders of tourists.
Anyone who stops or even looks at the performance for more than a few seconds is automatically detained and the trainer insists on payment! For a large number of tourists, being photographed in the company of a Barbary macaque appears to be a nottobemissed souvenir of Marrakech and money regularly goes into the photographers' pockets.
During the afternoon, the macaques are allowed several rest periods because of the extreme heat and the searing temperature of the ground. But during the evening their activity and resultant stress are continuous. It is easy for anyone who understands the normal behavior of primates to recognize the fear, the nervousness and the stress revealed on their faces.
On one of the stalls, four barbary macaques and a young baboon, a male about 1 year old, are kept. The baboon is already very disturbed by his capture and mistreatment and he is often kept attached to his cage by a chain, only 50 centimeters (20 inches) long.
Very aggressive, he pulls violently on his chain and in another few months it will be very difficult for the men to make him participate in their performances.
The four Barbary macaques are all females, aged 1, 5 and 9 years, and an orphaned baby of about 3 months. The two oldest are visibly very tired. One of them is losing her fur in patches and appears to have suffered illtreatment. The baby was reportedly captured in the Gorges d'Ouzoud where the wild macaques live. She was offered to me for approximately 1500 French francs (257 US dollars).
Very perturbed and traumatized by the brutal separation from her mother, and clearly very nervous and frightened, this little female kept falling and almost strangling herself with the chain to which she was not yet accustomed. Following such trauma at that young age it is doubtful that she will survive the next few months to reach her first birthday.
On the second stall, three or four females, a few years older, are forced to carry out the same daily work enticing tourists to pay to watch them, or be photographed with them.
Apparently, Marrakech is the only large town in Morocco where this disgusting trade is carried on. I did not see any macaques being used in any of the other cities on the tourist circuit.
However, other animals are not spared. The same procedure is followed with snakes. They are under permanent stress. They are continuously provoked by their owners. A cobra holding its head up in a defensive position is an attraction to tourists. A hundred or even two hundred times a day the cobras take that characteristic position.
On close inspection it is possible to detect that some of the snakes, those probably more dangerous than the cobras, have been mutilated a few centimeters behind their heads, either to prevent them biting, or to prevent them escaping into the crowd.
In the bazaars, particularly in the places where herbs and spices are
sold, a lot of small reptiles, squirrels and birds can be found, at ridiculously
low prices. For example:
Iguanas: 50 dirhams (5 US dollars)
Chameleons: 2030 dirhams (23 US dollars)
Herman and Greek tortoises: 30 dirhams (3 USdollars)
Squirrels: 200 dirhams (20 US dollars)
Birds of prey (falcons): 2000 dirhams (200 US dollars)
I was unable to identify the numerous birds for sale in some of the small shops. I could only recognize parrots, crossbills and canaries. A large number of remedies (socalled) concocted from animal parts (hedgehog, jackals, birds of prey, and all sorts of reptiles), together with the pelts of panthers, foxes, genets, etc. were also on sale in apothecaries.
It is evident that animals in Morocco are more often than not treated as objects or creatures to serve man. Mules and donkeys, often thin, beaten, and crushed beneath enormous loads and domestic animals like sheep and goats, chickens and rabbits, suffer daily abuse but their suffering goes unnoticed.
In all the many towns and villages I visited, I was able to see that
all animals were treated in a similar callous manner.
PLEASE CONTACT MOROCCAN TOURIST OFFICES
The Barbary macaque is a highly endangered species found only in North Africa, including Morocco, and Gibraltar. These monkeys should be protected from capture and should not be exploited in entertaiment. Barbary macaques belong in the wild (and so do baboons which are not native to Morocco).
We believe that expressions of concern from potential tourists would help end this abuse. Please send letters to one of the following offices:
Moroccan National Tourist Office
20 East 46th Street
New York NY 10017, USA
Moroccan National Tourist Office
205 Regent Street
London W1R 7DE, England
Also please send a protest to the Moroccan Minister of the Environment expressing your concern at exploitation of one of Morocco's most endangered species. Letters from the US to Morocco cost 60 cents per halfounce, $1 per ounce.
The Minister of the Environment
Ministry of the Environment
Rabat, Morocco
Meet Arun Rangsi, one of IPPL's
Sanctuary Gibbons