Rights Group Slams Treatment of Viral Japanese Monkey
Over 5,000 visitors flocked to Ichikawa Zoo to see Punch, the abandoned baby macaque, as animal-rights groups call for his move to a sanctuary to ensure better care.
- On 24 Feb 2026, PETA urged Punch be moved to a sanctuary, saying 'Zoos are not sanctuaries- they are places where animals are confined, deprived of autonomy, and denied the complex environments and social lives they would have in the wild'.
- A Feb 19, 2026, photo shows Punch, abandoned shortly after birth, clutching an IKEA orangutan at Ichikawa City Zoo, sparking viral sympathy.
- Crowds surged at the Ichikawa zoo, with fans queuing up to an hour and more than 5,000 visitors on Feb 23, while IKEA reported unprecedented interest and some markets ran out of the toy.
- The zoo responded by setting up a restricted zone to reduce stress and said on Feb 22 that Punch was meticulously groomed by two monkeys and is steadily fitting into the group.
- Punch's viral fame prompted the #HangInTherePunch community and donors requesting how to help, fueling animal-rights calls for sanctuary placement and broader zoo welfare debate.
62 Articles
62 Articles
His name: Punch. His best friend: an Ikea cuddly animal. The excitement about the sweet macaque at the Ichikawa City Zoo, who is looking for a connection, says a lot about us.
Who is Punch the monkey? - The tragic tale of the outcast baby macaque
It is the viral footage that has shattered hearts from Tokyo to Termenfeckin, a tiny, quivering baby macaque, rejected by his mother, bullied by the bigger monkeys, and clinging to an oversized IKEA soft-toy. Little Punch, Japanese macaque born at Ichikawa City Zoo, has become the world’s most famous orphan, after viral videos of him being beaten, scared, and cowering in terror, have provoked a global outpouring of sympathy and solidarity with t…
The Independent
The Independent (US)PETA says viral baby monkey Punch shows ‘cruelty of zoos’
Macaco Punch has stopped the Internet with its fur and chimpanzee bean from IKEA that has disappeared all over the world, and still, the choice to replace the President of the United States if the whole government dies.
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