A zoo has sparked outrage after forcing a chimpanzee to ride a bike while spraying Covid-19 disinfectant.
A shocking video from the Samutprakarn Crocodile Farm and Zoo in Thailand shows the primate wearing a surgical face mask, denim shorts and an orange Hawaiian shirt with a tank strapped to its back.
The footage, which has been called "heartbreaking" by activists, shows the animal pedalling a child's bicycle while spraying the sanitiser on April 11.
The zoo's bosses claim they wanted to show how they are keeping their premises clean during the coronavirus pandemic.
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Campaigners have been trying for several years to have the tourist attraction, located on the outskirts of Bangkok, closed down after repeated cases of alleged animal abuse.
It has become notorious after it was claimed that elephants have been abused, crocodiles have become malnourished and bears kept in filthy pools.
Animal rights group PETA says the latest video shows that the facility has been "routinely" mistreating animals, describing it as a "hell hole".
''Places like Samutprakarn Crocodile Farm and Zoo are hellholes where animals like this chimpanzee endure miserable lives in captivity every single day," spokesman Nirali Shah said.
''They're routinely mistreated, and know little more than chains. When they're not used for human 'entertainment', they're held in cramped cages.''
Nirali alleges that PETA investigators have documented several further accounts of abuse at the zoo last year, such as animals being beaten with bamboo sticks, which have been raised with police.
''Despite multiple attempts to contact Samutprakarn, the zoo's management has never responded," she said.
''PETA submitted the investigative findings to the Thai police and lodged an official complaint with authorities, urging them to inspect the zoo.''
However farm director Uthen Yangpraphakorn says the chimp was being given a chance to "stretch his limbs".
"We have been closed since the government orders about the virus, so in the meantime we do not have much to do," Uthen said.
"We clean the place two or three times a week in case the government will allow us to re-open, so we are ready to start accepting visitors again.
"The chimp was also train in the farm so we just brought him out to let him stretch his limbs during this inactive period."
Thailand has declared 2,643 Covid-19 coronavirus cases and 43 deaths to date.
The country has brought in strict measures to combat the pandemic including closing zoos and other businesses, banning passenger flights, imposing curfews, sweeping travel bans and alcohol prohibition.
PETA have been pressuring tour companies to stop taking holidaymakers to Samutprakarn since it sparked outrage last December when footage emerged of a painfully thin elephant being forced to perform tricks for crowds.
Chinese firm Ctrip, which is Asia's biggest online booking agency and owns Skyscanner, stopped selling tickets to the zoo in August 2019.
