Authorities in Thailand are investigating the disappearance of thousands of macaques …
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00:00Authorities in Thailand are investigating the disappearance of thousands of monkeys in the
00:04country. It all started at a temple in northeast Thailand where monks and tourists fed nearly
00:083,000 monkeys. Today, however, there are reportedly only 200 monkeys left. Initially, people attributed
00:15the sharp decrease in monkeys to the drop in tourism caused by COVID-19. Others believe that
00:20the monkeys may have migrated because of hunting or deforestation. Local authorities, however,
00:25are investigating a different theory, monkey trafficking. Before COVID, China legally
00:30exported the same kind of monkey to buyers around the world. And given the abundant legal supply,
00:34the illegal purchase price of the monkey in Southeast Asia was only between $20 and $30.
00:40Today, however, that price has multiplied by 10. And that's because China has not legally exported
00:45the monkeys since the start of the pandemic. This caused a significant drop in supply for
00:50American laboratories and traffickers may be exploiting the shortage. According to The
00:54Guardian, traffickers are visiting temples and nearby places inhabited by the monkeys
00:59while posing as forest agents or tourists. They then bait the animals with food before tranquilizing
01:05them. It's believed the monkeys are then placed on farms before being shipped legally to the U.S.
01:10with fake export permits. Investigations into the matter are being carried out in Thailand,
01:15Cambodia, and the U.S.