A captive Orangutan has been forced to stop smoking and is being sent to a re-education zoo.

From CBS here:

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia — A captive orangutan often spotted smoking cigarettes given to her by zoo visitors is being forced to kick the habit. Government authorities seized the adult ape named Shirley from a state-run zoo after she and several other animals there were deemed to be living in poor conditions.

Shirley is now being quarantined at another zoo in a neighboring state and is expected to be sent to a Malaysian wildlife center on Borneo island within weeks.

Melaka Zoo Director Ahmad Azhar Mohammed said Shirley is not being provided with any more cigarettes because “smoking is not normal behavior for orangutans.”

Shirley seemed to suffer severe mood swings, sometimes looking drowsy and on other occasions appearing “very agitated” without a cigarette.

The ape is in jail for whatever crime it committed- so for God’s sake let it smoke. Or as Mark Knoller of CBS tweeted:


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