Thai macaques have been and are used to gather coconuts in Thailand . Small producers have been breeding monkeys in captivity for more than a century for this purpose, claiming that it is an ancient tradition that allows them a much more efficient harvest.
According to the Thai professor at the Oxford School of History, Phacha Phanomvan, “different anthropological studies show that monkeys have been domesticated to gather fruit in Southeast Asia for more than 1000 years and they live together on farms as if they were a member of the community. of the family”.
Since 2019, the environmental NGO People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA ) has been denouncing the situation, since it understands it as a form of animal exploitation. The organization has accused large Thai brands of using monkeys in their crops, which are dedicated to exporting coconut products around the world, such as milk, yogurt, oil and flour.
But the campaign of the animal rights NGO does not end here, they have also promoted an international boycott. Multiple British and American supermarket chains have stopped marketing the products of these companies. A matter that did not take long to reach the Thai government, which vigorously defended the coconut sector against accusations of animal abuse.
According to PETA reports , as much as the authorities deny it, the coconut industry in Thailand has a dark side and they have not stopped broadcasting videos showing monkeys chained and caged in terrible conditions. One of the videos of their campaigns alleges that ” the baby macaques have been illegally captured from the wild , trained to collect coconuts in an abusive way and that on the farms they are chained in solitude , without the possibility of socializing with their peers.”
Data such as those of the year 2019, pointed to Thailand as one of the main exporters of coconut milk. It did so to more than 120 countries for a value of 12,760 million baht, equivalent to 362 million euros, mainly to the United States (35%), Australia (9%) and the United Kingdom (8%).
According to the NGO, today more than 33,000 stores around the world have stopped selling Thai coconut milk from the exploitation of macaques. A fact that, undoubtedly, will have detrimental effects on the economy of the sector and the country. Currently, both companies and the government continue to deny that this practice exists.
To all this, Professor Phacha Phanomvan , responds that “living on family farms, macaques can coexist with humans , and thus stop being seen and persecuted as if they were an urban plague. It is a symbiotic relationship in which both species win ”.
And you, what do you think of the use of animals for agriculture?
References:
Efe Agency. (2020, July 7). Coconut-gatherer monkeys: Tradition or exploitation in Thailand? https://www.efe.com/efe/america/mexico/monos-recolectores-de-cocos-tradicion-o-explotacion-en-tailandia/50000545-4290931
PETA. (2021, Junio 29). Monkeys Chained, Abused for Coconut Milk https://investigations.peta.org/monkeys-abused-coconut-milk
