Activists protest over Thai orang-utan at wildlife meet

October 16, 2004

02 Oct 2004 14:25:16 GMT

Source: Reuters

BANGKOK, Oct 2 (Reuters) - Activists dressed in orang-utan costumes paraded

at a global wildlife meeting on Saturday to highlight what they say could be

the world's biggest case of ape smuggling.

The 10 protesters, including three dressed as the hairy apes, demanded that

Thai authorities speed up their investigation into whether some 100

orang-utan found in a Bangkok amusement park were smuggled in from

Indonesia.

" Yesterday, another orang-utan died in Safari World so there are 101 left

out of the 115 we found last year. That really concerns us a lot, " said

Edwin Wiek, Director of Wildlife Friends of Thailand.

The owners of Safari World initially said the apes were the result of a

successful breeding program, but have since admitted buying some of them

illegally, police said last month. The results of DNA tests conducted last

month to determine their origin may be known by mid-October.

Police said that if the orang-utan are found to be from Indonesia they will

be repatriated and the Safari World owners prosecuted.

The timing of the test results could embarrass the Thai government as it

hosts some 2,000 delegates attending the Oct. 2-14 Convention on the

International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) convention. Fewer than

30,000 orang-utan are left in the jungles of Malaysia and Indonesia, and

environmentalists say the species could become extinct in 20 years if the

current rate of decline continues.

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