Great apes shot and burnt alive by palm oil farmers

orangutans are released back into the wild. One male called Tiger, who had his first chance of freedom scuppered after trying to steal a motorbike from a plantation, was released last month.

And some palm oil plantations have joined the fight to protect the apes.

Dr Simon Lord, who works for Sime Darby Plantation in Borneo, is a founding member of the Round Table on Sustainable Palm Oil. His company supplies Nestle, Unilever, Kelloggs and their oil goes into 90% of biscuits in the UK, including Mcvities.

He said: “We don’t want to go down in history as the company that trashes forests and kills orangutans. It’s about common decency and ethics. It is not an evil crop but it can be grown by evil people. It’s these people who taint the rest of us who are trying to get it right.”

Michelle Desilets, from Orangutan’s Land Trust, said: “Iceland got it wrong! It’s not about cutting out palm oil, it’s about ensuring your supply chain is free from deforestation.

“It’s true palm oil represents a catastrophic threat to the orangutan but please don’t stop using it. The boycott is not an effective struggle for change.”

Iceland boss Richard Walker said: “The current level of palm oil consumption means demand is too great for it to be mass produced in a truly sustainable manner.

For that reason, we have committed to remove palm oil from all own label food.”