Scandal of Shirley the chain-smoking orangutan in Malaysian horror zoo

Chain-smoking all day in her cramped enclosure, lighting the next cigarette from the stump of the last one, Shirley the orangutan cuts a pitiful figure. She has no problem feeding her habit – visitors chuck her their butts, blatantly ignoring the no smoking signs while zoo officials look the other way.

They also hurl drinks cans and other rubbish at Shirley, 25, laughing as she chews on plastic food wrappings or reaches through the bars to beg for another cigarette. Her plight is one of the most horrific examples of animals caged in cruelty in Malaysia, a country which has some of the worst zoos in the world.

The scandal includes crocodiles in enclosures without water, giraffes with bloody sores on their legs, and lions and tigers trapped in tiny cages too small for them to turn around in.But it is Shirley who brings home the full horror of the grim conditions in the government-monitored zoos.She shares her enclosure at a zoo in Johor Baru with another orangutan called Abu. A law was passed last October to clean up zoos like these. But with only weeks to go before the June deadline, it is clear that rule is being ignored.

Recent pictures show that Shirley is still getting hold of fags, despite barriers being erected by the zoo authorities. Nobody knows how she became addicted to cigarettes – she is even picky about which brands she smokes – but her keepers do little to stop visitors from feeding her habit. Last week, an investigation of 10 zoos in Malaysia found animals being kept in dirty, small, bare enclosures.

Some had no clean drinking water or water to swim in. Others were being made to perform, despite a ban by wildlife ministry Perhilitan.Nature Alert, based in Britain, is working to change things. The voluntary non-profit organisation has raised many cases of cruel zoo conditions with the Malaysian government – including exposing one zoo which was illegally obtaining orangutans.

Boss Sean Whyte said: “They are among the worst zoos in the world. In Malaysia’s case they have no excuse. It is a wealthy country. It is really grim. “A new law came into effect last October. They gave the zoos six months to get up to standard, but no one has any expectation that anything will really change without publicity. “The government makes promise after promise. They never keep any of them, but I will hold their feet to the fire until they do.“I can understand different cultures, but this is purely people exploiting wildlife for financial gain illegally. Malaysia is a hub for the illegal trade in animals. Those orangutans have been in zoos approved of by the government. “I advise anyone visiting Malaysia to stay away from zoos – or risk becoming deeply upset at what they see.”