Thailand: More than 100 monkeys struggling for air rescued from smugglers
More than 100 monkeys have been rescued from smugglers in Thailand – who were carrying them in bags in the back of a pick-up truck.
The long-tailed macaques were found on Thursday at a checkpoint near the Cambodian border.
They were in blue mesh bags stashed together in plastic baskets.
Thai vets set up a field hospital to treat the monkeys, who were struggling and gasping for air when they were found.
Ultrasound scanners and breathing tubes were used to treat 80 of the macaques; four were in critical condition and 18 did not survive, authorities said.
Some of the monkeys were pregnant.
“The monkeys were exhausted and dehydrated for a long time. Some of them had respiratory problems because of overcrowding during the smuggling operation,” said head vet Pattarapol Maneeon.
The driver of the truck was detained for wildlife smuggling.
The man told local media that he was hired for 3,000 baht (£68) to drive the truck to the border and that he was not aware there were monkeys in the back.
Macaques are commonly found across parts of Asia, including Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Southeast Asia and China.
Tokyo police announced on October 6, a former pet store manager was arrested on suspicion of attempting to import into Japan monkeys that pose a high risk of transmitting the virus to humans, Tokyo police announced. reported on October 6, in the context of this animal being popular on social networks.
Suspect Yoshihiko Machino, 48, from Kawaguchi City, Saitama Prefecture, allegedly boarded a flight departing from Thailand’s Suvarnabhumi Airport on June 2 with 21 baby monkeys hidden in a cardboard box. and a suitcase, and tried to import them into Tokyo’s Haneda Airport the next day.
As a general rule, Japan prohibits any importation of monkeys as pets because of the potential for them to spread Ebola and other infectious diseases with high mortality rates to the population. Police said Machino admitted to the charges against him, saying, “The truth is I smuggled them from Thailand to Japan. I want to raise them myself.”
