An orangutan was trained to perform sex acts and forced into prostitution in Indonesia. Workers at a nearby palm oil farm in Borneo would come to the village’s brothel where Pony would be lying on a dirty mattress, chained to the wall. The defenceless animal, who was shaved and made to wear jewellery and perfume, would then be raped by men twice the size of her, who had paid for the experience.
It was horrifying. She was a sex slave – it was grotesque,’ said Michelle Desilets, who was Director of the Borneo Orangutan Survival Foundation UK when Pony was rescued. ‘She was covered in abscesses, and they put makeup and earrings on her. ‘She must have been in so much pain. It was horrible to think about how terrified she must have been.’
Pony was stolen from her mother as a baby and taught how to perform sex acts by her captors from as young as six years old. Her body was then shaved every other day, leaving her with sores, skin irritation, and prone to mosquito bites. Fortunately she was rescued in 2003 – but 35 armed policemen were required to force cash-strapped villagers to hand her over. ‘We were threatened with guns and knives,’ Ms Desilets, a former teacher, told The Sun.