Link to the spanish translation of this petition: https://www.facebook.com/share/p/fuunfgrb4UXUddCs/ 

Dear President, Ministers,

We, who have witnessed the severe injustice inflicted on previously happy monkeys Kaka Mit and Puka, their human family and the global community, petition Your Excellencies to take immediate control regarding the operations of the Social Media Animal Cruelty Coalition (SMACC) and its affiliates including ENV and Vietnam Animal Aid, which are based on bureaucracy, prejudices and desire of vengeance rather than on the best interest of the monkeys. The automatic and prejudiced actions within these organizations, have caused significant emotional and physical damages to monkeys Kaka, Mit, and Puka, who have been unjustly confiscated more than 3 months ago to be forced into a much lower quality lifestyle which they don't want and made to suffer emotional distress due to their forced separation from their owners whom they love, at the watch of these authorities who demonstrate blatant lack of understanding and care.

Kaka, Mit, and Puka, were once (beyond regular pets) happy loved, well-cared for, happily engaged in the daily life of a human family, living in an environment which was allowing them to thrive comfortably, much beyond wild monkeys. They were happy and FREE with access to the forest, natural places and installations on the roof to play, fostering RICH INTERACTIONS BETWEEN EACH OTHER AND THEIR OWNERS but NOW THEY'RE MISERABLE PRISONERS placed in poor conditions at Ben En Center, doomed to death at their release! They are scheduled for release into the wild, though all of us know they can never be ready for it, as they will forever lack the necessary self-defense skills and survival reflexes that wild animals possess.

While advocating for the return of these monkeys, we have sadly realized that the aforementioned organizations operate on prejudice rather than understanding or discernment.

The key concerns are:

1. Bureaucracy, Corruption and Abuse of Power:

- Their baffling statements, including Miss Lauren, the head of Coalition Network, claiming that "no one can claim to know whether they miss their owner or not," despite all the recorded evidences during the family's weekly visits when they were still allowed, reflect a serious level of ignorance and unprofessionalism, especially coming from someone in her position and authority.
They claim --and boast about-- being "experts" "primatologists" yet they're unable to look into an animal's soul and understand his desires, his needs, his feelings nor the message he's trying to communicate, and they dare present themselves as "animal protectors"!
Miss Lauren fanatically refuses to acknowledge anthropomorphism in cases where a monkey coexists with a companion possessing higher consciousness. Her claim that "monkeys are and will always be monkeys" unfairly condemns Kaka and Mit—who now operate on higher levels of intelligence due to the unique experiences they've had—by equating them with other monkeys' operations who had entirely different pasts. This is simply wrong! It's akin to claiming that a scientist and a caveman operate the same way and express the same desires! Frans de Waal, a renowned primatologist, writes in Are We Smart Enough to Know How Smart Animals Are?: "What we assume to be uniquely human, such as empathy, morality, or culture, is also found in other species, particularly in our closest relatives, the primates. The dividing line between 'higher' and 'lower' consciousness becomes blurred when we look at the evidence." Kaka and Mit aren't wild and do not need to be treated as such!

-  Monkeys, like humans, form deep emotional bonds and mourn significant losses. It’s well-documented that monkeys grieve over the loss of their babies, and their personalities often change due to sorrow.  It only took 1 month for Puka under state care to perish from depression, he disappeared from the cage and authorities won't give any updates about his health.
SMACC’s refusal to acknowledge the emotional gradually damaging distress of Kaka, Mit, and Puka—who share 95% of the human genome—despite innumerable recorded evidences of the monkeys' gradual deterioration, reveals their hypocritical stance, prioritizing legalism over the monkeys' best interest, while presenting themselves as animal protectors.

- Worse still, Miss Lauren, the head of SMACCoalition, dismissively stated about the monkeys missing their owners, "these are assumptions made on human-based emotions and experiences"—truly baffling! Ironically, when we respond to the monkeys according to these so-called "assumptions" by reuniting them with their loving owners, they heal and recover. But when rigid bureaucrats with a dogmatic, Pharisaic mindset impose their harmful treatment of caging and forced separation, these animals wither and die! Again, it only took Puka a month of separation from his parents to collapse. Kaka and Mit, who have stronger spirits, are holding on a little longer, but they too will eventually succumb. The confiscated Judy monkeys also began to deteriorate under the SMACC-recommended treatment of "confiscation, sanctuaries, and wild". However, when their owners retrieved them, and provided them with the affection and care SMACC dismisses as mere "human-based assumptions," their spirits revived, and they found happiness once more.

Such blatant ignorance from SMACC and its affiliates renders them entirely unfit to advocate for animals or decide what’s best for their welfare!

Please have a look at these photos i'm attaching. If these organizations can’t see that these animals are clearly yearning for their families, and they accuse the supporters of the return, of being “emotional”—then it is THEY (SMACC and affiliates) who have no emotions and no capacity for empathy!!!!

 

 

Photo 1: Kaka and Mit so eager to escape the cage and embrace their human dad when they saw him coming to visit.

 

 

Photo 2: Monkey Puka, once perfectly healthy and free at home, has now become sick and depressed, with sunken eyes reflecting his misery.

 

 

Photo 3: Monkey Kaka, who dislikes being held by strangers, is trying to retain her human sister, not wanting her to leave

- SMACC's denial of the deplorable conditions of the cage, despite all evidences, daring to describe them as "MAY NOT HAVE BEEN PORTRAYED AS BEING IDEAL" is indeed Baffling! Even the haters couldn’t deny how much these animals miss their families!!!!!! Nor could they dispute the awful state of the cage! All other visitors to that zoo— which SMACC expects us to believe is a sanctuary, not just a zoo—   filmed that same ugly cage, just as the dad did! IF INDEED THESE ORGANIZATIONS WANT US TO BELIEVE DESPITE ALL THE EVIDENCES, THAT THIS CAGE IS CONVENIENT, why don't they film it themselves to prove us wrong?!   Did all the visitors somehow paint the water yellow, spread green mold on the walls, and turn the table and ground black?!

Before and Present Comparison Video 1
​Before and Present Comparison Video 2
​Before and Present Comparison Video 3
Before and Present Comparison Video 4
Deplorable conditions of the cage, video from someone else's channel

- Hypocritically pretending they’re working on these monkeys' "rehabilitation" after having banned all visitations and filming. It’s clear that the center closed its doors not only to avoid further criticism but to falsely claim that rehabilitation efforts are underway, and more importantly, to prevent us from witnessing the ongoing and cumulative deterioration of Kaka and Mit day by day due to the weight of the sorrow.  If real efforts are being made, why don't they show them to clear their already soily reputation? This so-called "rehabilitation" center has been caging and releasing monkeys for years with no intention of increasing their efforts, simply because they don’t care enough.
Moreover, banning visitations using an excuse that they want the monkeys to find their wild instincts is absurd!!! We all know that this is impossible!! The monkeys have nothing to be rehabilitated from, they shew zero signs of abuse at their owners' home but were manifesting all signs of joy and fulfillment, they were engaged, interactive, smart, receiving and giving love, free being themselves, healthy, well fed with rich diverse healthy food and happy, loving their life. Their excuse serves them to cover-up the fallibility of the decision of confiscation. It is a cover-up to hide the fact that instead of having "rescued" the monkeys, the monkeys aren't doing better but they're bored and sad and miss their family.

- Prejudices that all pet monkeys are exploited for profit, do not leave room for any possible different intention. The family genuinely love and understand their monkeys, sharing with us their beautiful special relationships and experiences as a family with a monkey member. Money came as a result, not as a purpose. Moreover, IT WAS NOT THE DAD WHO WAS EXPLOITING THESE MONKEYS, BUT THE ZOO WHO WAS USING THEIR FAME TO MAKE PROFIT!!!! The word "exploit" means "taking advantage of another soul without paying him back". The family, however, always repaid the monkeys’ affection with even more love, and with fulfilling their every heart desire!!!! They were thriving!!!! But these organizations, are proudly keeping them sad and bored in a dirty cage to get sick, selling tickets to profit, yet they claim they have "rescued" them???!!!!

- Abuse of power: The confiscation did not take into consideration the emotional needs of the monkeys especially when a strong genuine and pure unbreakable bond is already established between the monkeys and their human family for 3 years, since their tender age. 
According to Universal Declaration on Animal Welfare (UDAW) and the 1978 Universal Declaration of Animal Rights, proclaimed by different universal organizations like the World Animal Protection and the UDAW advocacy network: Domesticated animals, in particular, are recognized as being reliant on humans, which would imply that any decisions regarding their confiscation should consider their emotional needs. This is relevant in situations like Kaka, Mit and Puka's, where confiscating an animal would lead to its emotional distress, as in the case of separating it from a long-time owner.

All these respectable universal organizations echo similar sentiments regarding animal protection and care, stating that animals have the right to live free from suffering, and humans have a responsibility to consider their well-being. In our case, the confiscation of our 3 beloved monkeys inflicted on them the suffering of separation and deprived them from the exceptional care which they were enjoying like kings and queens in their owners' home. Once more, it only took Puka 1 month under state care, to withdraw not only mentally but physically. A previous monkey called Bibi confiscated previously in Vietnam as well, lost condition under the weight of forced separation from whom he loved.  I trust that you are aware dear sirs, that stress, sadness and the weight of separation are the root cause of organ impairment and physical sickness and weakening which can lead to death. 
Article 6 of the UDAW condemns the abandonment of animals as a cruel act, which could be extended to view the removal of animals from long-term caretakers as a form of emotional distress for the animals, especially when they were happy. The Universal Declaration on Animal Welfare acknowledges the importance of considering both the physical and psychological well-being of animals. This means that any decision, including confiscation, should prioritize avoiding emotional distress and respecting the bond between humans and their animals.

Confiscating animals without considering their emotional attachment to their caretakers violates these principles.

- Prejudice that diapers and clothes for monkeys is abuse.
However, clothes and diapers weren't bothering these monkeys, this excuse do not trade with the dangers of keeping them away from their parents or releasing them to the wild. 

- Abuse of power: we find it indeed unjust and severe that the family who has only been giving their monkeys, affection and dedicative proper care, is yet being treated like abusers or criminals, and worse, is being denied their right to visit, even to check up on the health of the souls they love!!   These procedures by the Center's authorities seem disproportionate and, frankly, a blatant violation of his human rights as caretaker who raised them and who deeply loves them.

- Presumptions that all fans asking for the monkeys' return are naive followers cheated by the cuteness of the monkeys, numb enough to not perceive any cruelty, and seek to be entertained. Again, false, we want them to return for their safety! because we care! and SMACC has to recognize exceptional cases where smartness of the monkeys is rooted in love and encouragement and not in cruelty.

- Prejudice that monkeys "are not pets" and "belong to the wild".  These organizations have made the decision for the monkeys, dictating where they should live, thrive, and what limited diet of wild leaves and insects they should eat. They refuse to accept, even when shown, that there are other places and diets where monkeys can thrive even more! While their stance is understandable since the big majority of Asian monkey owners are either abusers or unfit to raise a monkey, this should not deny the fact that monkeys can thrive with humans under comprehensive conditions, even much better than their wild counterparts!! You can see such successful results with Ruben Namibia and his baboon Cindy, who have been growing together for 21 years! The truth is, monkeys don’t inherently belong to the wild; they belong where life has destined them to be happy and thrive!  Researchers on Indian Bonnet Macaques who are very close relatives of pig-tail Kaka and stump-tail Mit say "Bonnet macaques are never afraid of humans; thus, they easily coexist with humans. In addition, they can make good pets since they have the ability to detect danger and warn humans about it through their warning cries"

- Prejudice that monkeys become aggressive and unmanageable in the long-term. This prejudice stems from the fact that in many Asian countries, most pet monkey owners are either abusers or unfit to raise monkeys. Their monkeys either die prematurely due to mistreatment or are abandoned before maturity once they no longer serve their purpose of being cute or entertaining. These owners never form genuine bonds with their monkeys—only exploitative relationships. This, however, does not apply to the wild-labeled animals that have formed strong, sincere bonds with their caretakers. Watching different successful animal whisperers living harmoniously with their pet animals labelled as "wild", we can see danger does not happen when the relationship between the animal and their owner is built on mutual respect and understanding. As they grow together, both parties become attuned to each other’s character, needs and preferences. Even during potential hormonal changes or mood swings, the relationship never becomes dangerous.or unmanageable

- Disregard by ENV and Ben EN Center Director for all our arguments and pleas, who, instead of acknowledging the declining health of the monkeys and returning them to their owners, who could bring their spirit back, they worsened the situation. The response was to further punish the monkeys and their family by banning all visitations and filming, to avoid more criticism and to falsely claim rehabilitating the monkeys.

- Distorting the image of the country: Through the YouTube channel "Monkey Kaka," the family was sharing their bond with the monkeys, promoting Vietnam's natural beauty, family bonds, kindness and warmth of its people and culture. This channel was giving a beautiful image of Vietnam, even contributed to the increase of tourism in Vietnam. Kaka, in particular, became an international symbol of happiness and intelligence, she became an embassador of Vietnam.
However, ENV’s and Ben EN's stances, have disappointed all of us. Despite the public outcry and evidence of the monkeys’ decline, they are still refusing to give them back to their family. In their refusal to self-evaluate, they damage not only the monkeys but also the government’s reputation, presenting an image of inflexibility, headstrong dictatorship, oppressing of their citizens, hypocrisy and injustice,  tyrans and hypocrites who would rather let the monkeys die than comply and return them to their family.

- According to SMACC, ENV and Ben En Center may be fearing that returning the monkeys would damage the government's reputation and encourage the citizens to disrespect their laws. They fail to pereive that on the contrary, recognizing mistakes is a virtue! correcting their mistake would show the government as reasonable and self-reflective, improving their already damaged image both locally and internationally. Many professions, including medicine, retract errors without losing credibility. Correcting mistakes aligns with the communist principles of self-criticism and responsiveness to public opinion, as outlined by Ho Chi Minh, the founder of Vietnam party. "Party members who commit errors will lead the masses into error; therefore, they stand ready to correct any mistake they may make, and this in a timely way, and do not allow small errors to accumulate into big ones. They sincerely practise criticism and self criticism, with makes it possible for them to progress together {...} We are not afraid of possible mistakes, but of failure to correct them resolutely. To redress them, we must listen to criticism by the masses and practise sincere self-criticism. Otherwise we shall lag behind and regress, which will lead to our being cast aside by the masses" - - Hô Chi Minh, On Revolutionary Morality, 1958.

2. Mismanagement of Wildlife:

- monkey adoption is mismanaged in Vietnam, where it’s too easy to adopt monkeys, black markets everywhere, monkeys being bought by almost every house in Vietnam, yet authorities blame one of the best families --who happened to have felt compassion and immediate soul connection with a monkey they saw in the store-- instead of addressing the root cause. Authorities' strategy of confiscating a famous monkey to discourage citizens from adopting monkeys or watching monkey channel, not only does not work, but has backfired. Instead, Kaka's unjust story and videos are now being shared worldwide, and many other families have recently adopted monkeys, and the pleasure of having a monkey at home is now being discovered by too many people around the world. Therefore, contrary to your fears that the Return of the monkeys would increase monkey adoptions, it is in fact the "Confiscation of happy monkeys" that increases (not diminish) the monkey adoption.

Rather than confiscating happy animals, ENV should focus on shutting down black markets (they have hundreds of monkeys each), to ensure no more monkeys can be bought, and to repopulate the wild if that is the intention; and also focus on saving abused monkeys, they are majority. And on censoring poachers! However, by targeting well-cared-for animals like Kaka, ENV disrupts their lives, forcing them into a lower quality of life which they don't prefer and don't want.

The forced separation has caused suffering, and the monkeys deserve to return to the environment where they were happiest. ENV’s rigid policies harm these exceptional animals, when instead they should focus on addressing the abuse happening in black markets.

- The only policy these organization uphold against monkey abuse is "no owning monkeys," and even that, they fail to measure its pros and cons on the personalized background of the monkeys!!

- Prejudice and Impoliteness from Vietnam Animal Aid: The disparaging comments from Vietnam Animal Aid, referring to Kaka's owner as a "moron" and labeling the supporters as "nummies," reflect a lack of respect for the genuine connections formed between humans and animals. Such prejudice undermines the integrity of animal advocacy and shows an ugly spirit in those who advocate for the animals’ best interests.

3. Inefficiency of SMACC and its affiliates:

The AfA SMAC Coalition claims to have worked on addressing macaque-related content on social media since its inception in 2020, boasting an in-depth understanding of the issue in all its forms. I personally have been actively filling out their forms and reporting monkey abuse videos and channels for a year and a half—not just hundreds, but thousands upon thousands—detailing the various types of abuse, both imaginable and unimaginable. This includes reviews highlighting everything from the signs of abuse and their spiritual implications: sucking fingers, toes, and private parts, sexual hyperactivity, numbness, confusion, lack of spatial awareness, malnutrition, caged living conditions, oppression, disorientation, fear, and monkeys always conscious of their private areas due to exploitation. Some were even subjected to cruel acts like having ants placed on their genitals to make them scratch! Their very skin color, demeanor, and aura reflect the abuse they endure. And yet, despite all this, none of these videos or channels has been removed! These same monkeys continue to grow up in abusive environments, living in constant hell, while their abusive owners’ channels remain prominent, prospering off the misery of these creatures. SMACC has achieved absolutely NOTHING in reducing online animal cruelty!

I have also been emailing many of their partner organizations, but the few who responded simply redirected me back to SMACC. Despite clear signs of abuse and obvious violent acts—ranging from beating, caging, teasing, sexual exploitation, molestation, staging fake rescues, drugging, and more—SMACC and its associated organizations never bothered to investigate these reports. Instead, they offered excuses, claiming uncertainty about whether the monkeys were still alive or if the videos were recent. And, as a final insult, they audaciously end their letters with: "If you want to save monkeys, donate!"

Requests to the President and Ministers:

- Monitor and Regulate the activities of SMACC and affiliates including ENV and Vietnam Animal Aid; the Ben En Center, should have a flexible spirit to ensure they adhere to true animal welfare principles that prioritize empathy and understanding over rigid legalistic frameworks.

- Encourage the inclusion of animal whisperers—professionals who can truly understand and communicate with animals—in these organizations. Their insights could guide better decision-making like confiscating or not, in a manner that aligns with the best interests of the animals.

- Return the Confiscated Monkeys: The emotional trauma and suffering that Kaka, Mit, and Puka have experienced due to their removal from loving homes cannot be overstated. Acknowledging the pain caused by these actions and rectifying this mistake is essential. Recognizing and correcting errors is a sign of integrity and compassion. Returning the monkeys would correct the bad image that already is being propagated about Vietnamese authorities, given their stubbornness to return the monkeys despite having seen the damages, and would NOT encourage more trade and pet ownership, when black markets are shut down, poachers and hunters arrested and abused monkeys confiscated.

- Adjust the law, Revise Policies on Animal Ownership: The law has been created by these authorities, therefore it can also be adjusted by these same authorities, to consider exceptional cases where the blind appliance of the same measures cause harm instead of good, therefore should not be taken. These organizations should acknowledge the possibilty of successful relationships between humans and wildlife. The claims that animals are unmanageable long-term are false when based on mutual respect and love, as demonstrated by responsible wildlife owners like Ruben Namibia, Kody Antle and more.

- Address the Root Causes of Animal Trade: Instead of targeting responsible caregivers, efforts should be directed towards shutting down illegal markets and preventing poaching. The actions of SMACC and ENV seem to have unintentionally incentivized black market adoptions rather than alleviating the issue.

Sincerely,