Joan de la Malla's Image

The terrified baby long-tailed macaque lets out a chilling scream. Frantically kicking its legs, it tries to writhe free from the seller’s hand. In the background are more young monkeys cooped up in cramped, dirty cages. This is a common market scene in Surabaya on the Indonesian island of Java.

Each year scores of young long-tailed macaques are taken from the wild and sold in Indonesian markets as household pets or for use in street shows. Lax quota regulations in the hunting and selling of long-tailed macaques mean traders and hunters have little fear of prosecution. Animal charities are working to enforce the existing legislation to put an end to this practice.