I know we've all seen the videos on Vine or Facebook of the Slow Loris eating a rice ball or being tickled. I know I personally identified with said Loris based on our similar appearance and tendency to double-fist food items. My obsession with them was great while it lasted.
One day I scrolled through my Facebook feed only to see another video of a Slow Loris, so naturally I clicked play. The video was titled "The Truth Behind the Slow Loris Pet Trade..." I thought that perhaps this would be one of those videos where we are bombarded with cute videos of the Slow Loris with an ironic narration in the background describing their cuteness as torture.
I was wrong. It did involve torture, but in a serious way rather than what I had expected. The Slow Loris is a nocturnal primate species native to Southeast Asia. Before being smuggled in crates, they are held down while their teeth are forcibly removed without anesthetics. They are then forced into crates too small to contain them, and with several other Slow Loris'. These crates often arrive carrying one or two Slow Loris' that have traveled alongside the dead bodies of their crate mates.
When we have seen the videos of the Slow Loris, we are often confronted with the image of a small primate raising its arms as it's tickled. Tickling them is torture. Since it is no longer able to communicate their discomfort by biting, since their teeth have been removed, they try to raise their arms where venom glands once were in order to convey their unhappiness. They cannot successfully convey this, though, as their glands were removed alongside their teeth. So when you tickle that Slow Loris, you are torturing them.
There is good news in this story. Although the smuggling and torture of the Slow Loris is still happening, many people are being informed of the plight of the Slow Loris. There are even petitions being spread and publicized by celebrities in an attempt to stop the torture of the Slow Loris. That means that there is something that you, as a reader, can take part in. In addition, you can even help the cause by avoiding sharing the videos you see on Facebook or elsewhere of the Slow Loris as pets. You can also take the time by spreading the word to your friends and family members about the torture taking the place of the Slow Loris. It is my hope that with enough initiative, we can one day live in a world where Slow Loris' do not have to be tortured for our enjoyment, but rather a world where we can simply enjoy and appreciate that they exist in their natural habitat, free from negative human interference.
