WATCH: Dudley Zoo launches Christmas pudding wildlife campaign
Christmas has come early for orang-utan Jorong, who has his eyes firmly fixed on this festive treat.
The Bornean beast is one of many residents at Dudley Zoo enjoying animal-friendly Christmas puddings as part of a campaign calling on shoppers to turn their backs on treats containing harmful palm oil this festive season.
Palm oil is used in a range of products, including food, cosmetics, cleaning materials and fuel and campaigners say its development is destroying the rainforest and driving some wild animals to the brink of extinction.
With new stricter labelling laws forcing food companies to state the source of fat and oil ingredients to make it clearer for shoppers, wildlife campaigners are using it as an opportunity to plead with consumers.
Many Christmas puddings being taken off the shelves in the run-up to Christmas will also contain the substance – with the zoo making the festive treats the focus of their campaign.
Shoppers are instead being urged to place palm oil-free puddings into their baskets.
Zoo presenter Pam Midwood said: "Habitat destruction for palm oil plantations is pushing many animals to the brink of extinction.
"The rainforest is being cut down at an alarming rate – the size of 300 football pitches every hour – to make way for product plantations, which is affecting many animals that rely on the rainforest habitat for survival, such as Sumatran tigers, Bornean and Sumatran orangutans and Sulawesi crested macaques - all species found at Dudley Zoo, leaving them with no homes and a very fragmented habitat.
"We're encouraging everyone to use sustainably sourced palm oil products to help ensure the long-term survival of the rainforest's unique wildlife. When doing your seasonal shopping make sure you read the labels and look out for the RSPO Trademark or Rainforest Alliance logo, which means the product's ingredients will have been responsibly sourced.
"This way you'll be helping save the lives of many animals across the world."
