Japan- Baby Monkey called Charlotte to be renamed after protests

Ap reports that a Japanese zoo has apologized for naming a baby monkey Charlotte after the newborn British princess following complaints at home.

The Takasakiyama Natural Zoological Garden said Thursday it was considering renaming the macaque. It was flooded with angry calls and emails Wednesday hours after announcing the name for its first monkey born this year, a tradition at the city-run zoo in southern Japan.

Charlotte was the favorite in a public ballot, receiving 59 out of 853 votes in just over a month until Wednesday, when the female monkey was born.

Opponents largely said giving the princess’ name to a monkey is disrespectful to British royals. According to zoo official Akira Asano, some of them said that the Japanese people would feel offended if a monkey were named after Japanese princesses.

He said the zoo has also received support for Charlotte, and the views are now largely divided.

“We deeply apologize for causing trouble to many people over the naming of the first baby (monkey),” said a statement posted on the zoo website. “We take these opinions seriously.”

It should stay as Charlotte, you can’t just change a given name on a whim.

And how about the poor little monkey’s feelings? This sounds like a job for John Banks.

One thought on “Japan- Baby Monkey called Charlotte to be renamed after protests

  1. So the complainants are basically speciesist against monkeys. Who does one write to about that one?

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