Shocking photos show helpless sea creatures chained inside underwater cages as a sick tourist attraction

SHOCKING photos have emerged showing a mother and baby dugong chained inside cages in Indonesia, with tourists being charged for a selfie with the gentle giants.

SHOCKING photos have emerged showing sea animals chained up inside underwater cages.

Divers swimming near the remote island of Kokoya in Indonesia stumbled upon two cages on the seabed where two rare dugongs were trapped.

The Sun reports the marine mammals appeared to be a mother and her calf, the divers said, adding that they had been caught by local fishermen hoping to profit by allowing tourists to take photos with the trapped creatures.

One of the divers, Delon Lim, revealed that the mother and baby were being held in separate cages.

Bu @susipudjiastuti mau lapor ada dugong ditangkap dan diikat di Pulau Kokoya oleh Nelayan.. Kondisinya mengenaskan! pic.twitter.com/i9pZiDjFc4

— Galuh Riyadi (@GaluhRiyadi) March 13, 2016

Lim told animal welfare website The Dodo that the while the younger creature was at least able to swim inside its cage, the mother’s movement was restricted by a huge rope.

The wear and tear on the rope and the scars on the mother’s tail suggested the animals had been chained for several weeks by the fishermen.

“He asked for some money if we want to see the dugong or take a picture,” Lim said, explaining that the animals were likely being used as tourist attraction.

Incredibly Lim and a fellow diver managed to convince the fishermen to let the animals free.

“When we left the island, the fisherman agreed to release them ... But since we were not so convinced he would, I posted the video to social media,” he said.

The social media messages alerted the attention of animal welfare authorities who arrived on the island the following day and found the mother and her baby still trapped.

They were finally set free later that day.

Proses Pelepasan Ikan Dugong di Pulau Kokoya @humaspsdkp @sjariefwidjaja @kkpgoid pic.twitter.com/KQHWNmcI37

— PSDKP Bitung (@psdkp_lan2) March 14, 2016