Indonesian police have arrested a couple who made meatballs from the flesh of protected monkeys, an animal conservation group said on Wednesday.Meatballs? How gauche. Everyone knows that curry stew is the best way to serve endangered monkey.
The pair poached dozens of rare Javan langurs, also known as silver-leaf monkeys, from Baluran National Park in the east of Java island, according to a statement released by Indonesia-based animal protection group ProFauna.
"Police found 30 kilograms (65 pounds) meat estimated to come from 20 - 25 individuals, two rifles and a live langur," the statement said.
They found meat from two rifles and a live langur? Sheesh, must be pretty soft gunmetal and one tough langur.
"The couple admitted that they had known what they did was against the law and they hunted the monkeys for their meat because beef and chicken were more expensive than the protected monkeys."
Meatball soup, known locally as bakso, is a popular dish in Indonesia.
The statement said police were now broadening their investigation to include checks on vendors suspected of selling the monkey meatballs, while ProFauna was in talks with the national park caretakers to prevent further poaching.
Maybe they'll escape to Oz and throw another chimp on the barbie....
Indonesian law states that perpetrators of wildlife crimes face a maximum five year prison term and a fine of 5 million rupiah ($555), but the law is not always strictly enforced.
During the southeast Asian unpleasantness, a friend and I were strolling through a local ville when we noticed a rather enticing spicy smell coming from a roadside stand. We asked the elderly Vietnamese proprietor what it was. He informed us in his severely fractured English that it was his special monkey stew.
He saw the horrified looks on our faces and said, "No, no. Is ok, is VC monkey!" He even offered us a discount to try it but we declined.
We told some of the other GIs about it later. One of them said, "Oh, yeah. I tried that. Pretty good eatin' as long as one of the hands doesn't come up in your spoon."