Thai Scientists Begin Probe in Big Orangutan Case

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Thai Scientists Begin Probe in Big Orangutan Case

 

Mon Sep 20, 6:54 AM ET

BANGKOK (Reuters) - Thai scientists began an

investigation Monday into what

some conservationists believe could be the world's

biggest case of ape

smuggling -- nearly 100 orangutan found in a Bangkok

amusement park.

 

Researchers from Thailand's Kasetsart University began

collecting hair,

saliva and blood samples from the Safari World apes

for DNA tests which should

determine whether the endangered orangutan were

smuggled in from Indonesia.

" This case is actually very significant, " said Edwin

Wiek, director of the

Wildlife Friends Rescue Center that treats abused

animals near Bangkok.

" We've had cases of seven or eight chimpanzees being

smuggled, but there's

never been a case so big. Over a hundred orangutan

found only in one place, "

he said.

Experts say the DNA testing will pinpoint the

birthplace of the orangutan to

within a few hundred kilometers (miles) in an

investigation reaching a

climax as Thailand prepares to host an international

environment conference in

October.

If the orangutan are found to be from Indonesia, they

will be repatriated

and the owners of the Safari World amusement park

would be prosecuted, police

say.

The owners of Safari World said initially their 115

orangutan were a result

of a successful breeding program, but have now

admitted buying a number of

them illegally, police investigator Aroon Promphanapes

told Reuters.

" The owners said they got 45 of the orangutan through

an exchange with

someone in Thailand. Who they made the deal with and

what they exchanged for

the

animals, we do not know yet, " he said.

The DNA results should be known in about a month,

when hundreds of delegates

meet in Bangkok for the Convention on the

International Trade in Endangered

Species (CITES) conference.

" I think we should really consider for the future how

these cases are dealt

with, " Wiek said.

" In the 10 months that this case has been going, the

animals are still in

the same place, 13 of them have died in circumstances

we don't know about and

I'm really concerned about the welfare of these

animals, " he said.

Indonesia has also expressed concern for the animals

with protesters

demonstrating outside the Thai embassy in Jakarta last

month to demand the

immediate

return of the orangutan.

Fewer than 30,000 orangutan are left in the jungles

of Malaysia and

Indonesia.

Animal rescue groups have offered to pay for the

repatriation of the animals

if they are found to have come from Indonesia. The

apes will then need to be

rehabilitated and released into the wild in a process

which could take

several years.

 

 

 

=====

Michelle Desilets

BOS UK

www.savetheorangutan.org.uk

www.savetheorangutan.info

" Primates Helping Primates "

 

Please sign our petition to rescue over 100 smuggled orangutans in Thailand:

http://www.thePetitionSite.com/takeaction/822035733

 

 

 

 

 

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