Palm oil industry blamed for abuse of orang-utans

Endangered orang-utans in Indonesian Borneo are suffering routine physical abuse when they stray into palm oil plantations, say wildlife groups and campaigners in the region. Poor migrant workers, often encouraged by the offer of extra pay from rainforest loggers, trap the animals and beat them to death.

Wildlife rescue centres in Indonesia are overflowing with displaced and injured orang-utans, many of which have suffered horrific injuries at the hands of their captors, says the Borneo Orangutan Survival Foundation (BOS). In a particularly cruel killing, a male was buried alive, and in another an orang-utan was doused in petrol by rainforest loggers and set alight.

The Independent