Orangutans face existential threat from palm oil deforestation, which destroys their habitat and kills individuals in land clearing operations.
Orangutans caught in land clearing operations experience extreme suffering - machete attacks, burning, and sometimes being kept as pets after mothers are killed. Captive orangutans with inadequate care suffer from social isolation, inappropriate diet, and behavioral deprivation. Orphans rescued from the pet trade often have severe psychological trauma requiring years of specialist care. The destruction of forest habitat condemns wild orangutans to starvation, predation, and death from exposure as they lose the resources they require. The orangutan welfare crisis is inseparable from the palm oil industry and consumer choices about palm oil consumption.