950 starving monkeys seized from farm
July 12, 2007
THE monkeys were caught in the wild, then confined in small cages
so cramped they couldn't even stand properly.
Their fate that awaited them was worse.
They were meant to be smuggled to restaurants in China and
laboratories in Holland, where they would be used
as guinea pigs.
But on Saturday, wildlife officers rescued the 950 long-tailed
macaques from their misery at a rambutan orchard in Pontian,
Johor.
It is believed to be the biggest seizure by the National Parks
Department Crime Unit.
In the 'monkey farm', the primates were almost starved to
death.
Some monkeys were seen chewing the bloody stumps of their wrists
while others had taken to eating the carcasses of their
infants.
There was also a mound of 100 rotting dead monkeys.
It took the officers 36 hours to cart the cages back to the office
so that the monkeys could be treated and released back into the
wild.
The monkeys would have fetched RM380,000 ($168,000).
Three local men and an Indonesian were arrested and freed on
RM2,000 bail.
One of them is believed to have a record for smuggling
wildlife.
They face a jail term of up to three years or a fine of up to
RM18,000 or both if convicted.
