David
Shukman Science editor
2 February 2017
The BBC's revelations about the
illegal trade in baby chimpanzees triggered an outpouring of emotion on social
media about the cruelty suffered by these adorable animals
And this raises questions about
how our attitudes to our closest relations in the natural world have changed.
Some people who contacted me
volunteered to adopt Nemley Jr, the infant rescued from traffickers after the
BBC investigation.
Many expressed outrage at the
wealthy buyers in China, South East Asia and the Gulf states whose demand
encourages poachers to go on raids in the jungles.
There has also been a new burst
of fury at celebrities posing with chimps.
Michael Jackson famously kept one
called Bubbles.
Paris Hilton drew criticism for
kissing a baby chimp.
More recently, Louis Tomlinson,
of One Direction, was criticised for using one in a video.
And a small number on Twitter and
Facebook were so disturbed by the heart-breaking scenes in our videos that they
wanted to see anyone trading endangered animals immediately locked up or even
killed.
What this represents is the
latest episode in a long and often shameful relationship between chimps and
humans.
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