Moo Deng, a female baby pygmy hippo, became a Thai zoo’s starlet and global online celebrity after a zookeeper posted videos of her on social media. - Photo: EPA-EFE via SCMP
BANGKOK (SCMP): Thailand has dismissed as outdated, animal rights group Peta’s accusations that an internet-famous female baby pygmy hippo “faces a lifetime of confinement” at a local zoo cashing in on the mammal’s stardom.
Visitors from around the globe have flocked to Khao Kheow Open Zoo in Chonburi province to see the adorable two-month-old hippo Moo Deng (“bouncy pork” in Thai), whose cute videos went viral on TikTok and Instagram.
Moo Deng’s online celebrity status has spawned memes, souvenirs and footwear. The hippo’s popularity also led to a surge in the zoo’s income from ticket sales, reaching about 19.2 million baht (US$587,000) between September 1 and 25.
To avoid overcrowding at her enclosure, the zoo has limited Moo Deng’s viewing time to five minutes per visitor and launched a 24-hour live stream for fans worldwide.
A local company introduced Moo Deng-inspired flip-flops priced at 199 baht per pair, claiming they “make you bounce when you wear them”.
But the endangered animal’s sudden rise to fame has been dogged by controversy.
The popularity of Moo Deng resulted in a 50 per cent increase in visitors at Khao Kheow Open Zoo between September 1-19. Photo: EPA-EFE / SCMP
The People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals said, “there is nothing cute about a baby being born in captivity”.
“Hippos belong in the wild, but Moo Deng will never live outside a cage. She faces a lifetime of confinement, deprived of her freedom and the opportunity to experience her natural habitat and the social structures of her species,” Peta senior vice-president Jason Baker wrote on Facebook.
The organisation said animals do not exist for our entertainment and urged an “end to this cruel cycle”. Peta expressed its willingness to help arrange the transfer of animals to sanctuaries.
The zoo’s director Narongwit Chodchoi refuted Peta’s claims, telling local media, Moo Deng and other animals at the facility receive the best care that focuses on their well-being.
Endangered pygmy hippos are native to West Africa, with only an estimated 2,000-2,500 left in the world, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
The Thai Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals also criticised Peta for relying on old-fashioned wildlife protection campaigns that also involve calling on people to boycott countries accused of cruelty.
A two-month-old female pygmy hippopotamus named Moo Deng has become an internet sensation. Photo: EPA-EFE / SCMP
The agency in a Monday statement said Peta’s assessment of Moo Deng was based on “incomplete” information, pointing to the American NGO’s 2020 investigation which exposed the use of pigtailed macaques by some farms in Thailand to pick coconuts.
That revelation prompted major British retailers to remove coconut products from store shelves. Then-commerce minister Jurin Laksanawisit said, “using monkeys for the coconut industry is almost non-existent”.
Thai social media users also criticised Peta, saying the zoo was conserving and breeding the hippos, not displaying them for show.
“If the animals in the zoo aren’t for people to see, are you going to let dogs walk around and watch them? In that case, all wild animals in zoos around the world should be released back into the wild, not just Moo Deng,” a Facebook user said.
Another wrote: “Zoos have been conserving pygmy hippos to prevent them from becoming extinct. If you have too much free time to demand something impossible, use it to study endangered animals to gain knowledge.”
Some accused Peta of using Moo Deng’s fame to make Thailand “look bad”.
In response, the group wrote on Facebook: “We speak up for all animals. It’s about quality of life and not quantity of life. We have been campaigning in Thailand and around Asia for decades, doing undercover investigations and speaking up for those in cages.” - SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST
