Dear prime minister and natural resources and environment minister,

My name is Sybelle Foxcroft and I am the director of the conservation organisation, Cee4life (Conservation and Environmental Education 4 Life) in Australia.

I am writing in regard to the welfare of an critically endangered orangutan named Katarina, who has been alone for 13 years of her life.

Katarina is in a rundown zoo in the Malaysian state of Pahang called Kuala Lipis and is living a miserable life of solitude with below standard care.

Orangutans are well-known for their strong intellect and their very strong family orientation.  To have a critically endangered precious orangutan living in solitude and in near squalor is terribly saddening.

As mentioned above, the orangutan are highly intelligent creatures, they also have 97 percent DNA of humans, making them a very feeling being indeed.  The mental and physical endurance Katarina has needed so far in order to survive in such negative conditions is miraculous to say the least.

Katarina is also subjected to negative public interaction including some members of the public forcing her to smoke cigarettes along with very unhealthy ‘junk’ foods given to her.

Her enclosure and night quarters are highly unethical and again extremely negative.

We are aware that there is a highly humane and ethical sanctuary in Malaysia where Katarina can be rehomed to.

Along with Friends of the Orangutan, Malaysia,  we ask for your permission for the rehoming of Katarina into the sanctuary at Matang.

You may wonder why an Australian organisation would care about an Orangutan in Malaysia. Dear Sirs, we are peaceful animal loving people who only wish for Katarina to live a life of peace, safety and contentment. We can very deeply for her as she is one of the last critically endangered orangutans left on this earth.

There is so much terrible negatives on earth these days, we all must strive forward to be more kind, more humane to the animals that we share our earth with.

I humbly ask that Katarina be given the opportunity to see and live with other orangutans in a ethical and humane sanctuary of Matang.

Thankyou very much for considering this plea.

Sincerely

Sybelle Foxcroft