Chain-Smoking Chimpanzee in North Korea is angering animal rights activists

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Azalea, a 19-year-old female chimpanzee in Pyongyang, North Korea, is one of the most popular animals at the�Pyongyang Central Zoo�for its hobby -- lighting a cigarette and smoking it. It is reported that she smokes about a pack of cigarettes every day.�

Visitors seem to be amused by the animal's display of human-like activity, but many animal rights advocates�have voiced concerns and anger over the zoo's decision to teach and encourage the chimp to smoke.�

PETA president Ingrid Newkirk stated, "How cruel to willfully addict a chimpanzee to tobacco for human amusement," during an interview with 'Time' magazine.�

The�Pyongyang Central Zoo has a history of animal rights violations as in the past, videos smuggled out of North Korea showed endangered animals fighting at the zoo.