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British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection

[email protected] web www.buav.org phone+44 (0) 207 700 4888 fax +44 (0) 207 700 0252

Introduction

The BUAV has been instrumental in exposing the international trade and supply of nonhuman

primates for the research industry. In 1992, BUAVs Paradise Lost was the first ever in-depth

investigation of the trade in primates for research, and revealed the brutality and cruelty inflicted on

monkeys during their capture, caging, transportation, holding and eventual death in the laboratory.

Since that time, the BUAV has continued to investigate and expose the appalling misery, suffering

and death that are inflicted on nonhuman primates for and by the international research industry. Just

two years ago, we exposed the large scale factory farming of macaques in Vietnam. We now bring

you the disheartening news that this cruel trade has been adopted on an even larger scale by another

Southeast Asian country. The latest BUAV investigation into the horrors of the primate trade is an

expose of the abject cruelty and suffering that tens of thousands of macaques are forced to endure in

the trapping fields, and holding and breeding facilities in Cambodia, the latest country to embark on

the factory farming of monkeys for the international research industry.

In this daring investigation, BUAV investigators infiltrated and filmed the trapping network, dealers and

supply companies to expose the secrets that the research industry would prefer to keep hidden. What

has emerged is a shocking and sickening picture of animal cruelty and suffering. Monkeys are

complex, intelligent and social animals who live in large family groups. Yet, bewildered and terrified,

these wild monkeys were brutally ripped from their family groups and native habitat to feed a

massively expanding breeding industry as Cambodias monkey dealers tote their grim business to

countries around the world, including the USA and Europe.

BUAV BRIEFING:

Undercover investigation of the primate

trade in Cambodia


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Cambodia

The Kingdom of Cambodia, once known as Kampuchea, is in Southeast Asia. It lies within the tropics

and is bordered by Vietnam to the east, Laos to the north and the Gulf of Thailand to the southwest.

Cambodia lies in the lower Mekong River basin and occupies some of the flattest and lowest land in

Southeast Asia. It is a country rich in natural beauty and resources and has become an increasingly

popular tourist destination.

Status of Long-tailed macaque

Macaca fascicularis (long-tailed macaques, also known as crab-eating macaques and cynomolgus

monkeys) is indigenous to and widespread throughout Southeast Asia. Its main habitat is forested

areas near water.

The long-tailed macaque is classified as Appendix II under the Convention on the International Trade

in Endangered Species (CITES). This means that the species is not necessarily threatened with

extinction, but may become so unless the trade is subject to strict regulation. Cambodia became a

member state of CITES in 1997.

According to the Red List of the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural

Resources (IUCN) (the worlds largest global environmental network - a membership union with more

than 1,000 government and NGO member organizations), the status of the long-tailed macaque is at

Lower risk near threatened. The species does not qualify for Conservation Dependent, which is the

highest category, but is close to qualifying for Vulnerable.

The long-tailed macaque is vulnerable to habitat loss through deforestation and human

encroachment. Any trade in these primates will likely further exacerbate the status of this species.

Despite this, the Cambodian government has allowed the exploitation of its indigenous population of

long-tailed macaques through what appears to have been a largely unregulated trade. In recent years,

there appears to have been indiscriminate and intensive trapping of wild monkeys to establish the

numerous breeding and supply farms.


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BUAV investigation - Major findings

Trapping

The BUAV has uncovered evidence of the shocking cruelty inflicted on monkeys who were capturedfrom the wild by trappers. BUAV investigators infiltrated the trapping network and accompanied

trappers in their canoes as they navigated their way around the flooded forests of Cambodia, a habitat

favoured by long-tailed macaques. Nets were placed around the base of trees and the trappers used

oars to beat the tree trunks and catapults to fire clay balls to scare monkeys out of the trees. Tree

branches were also cut down by trappers to isolate monkeys before catching them.

The monkeys desperately tried to escape by swimming under the water, but became tangled in the

nets and were dragged out. The terrified animals were brutally handled by the trappers who swung

them vigorously by their tails and roughly pulled their arms behind their backs. Such handling could

cause injury to the animals and shows total disregard for the monkeys welfare. The monkeys were

then forced into small, netted, plastic bags that were tied closed. Keeping wild, free living animals

restrained in this way is extremely cruel. The animals were then stored like baggage under planks in

darkness in the hold of the canoe. They were held in this appalling way for a number of days until the

trappers returned to their villages; only brought out to be submerged in water and given food. The

trappers were keen to keep their victims alive at least until they had been sold to the dealer.

In an act of unbelievable cruelty, the trappers forcibly removed a nursing infant from his mother and

put them in separate bags. It is clear that both were severely traumatised and it is unlikely that the

infant would survive. The shock and distress experienced by these wild animals was evident. Brutally

ripped from their family groups and homes, many were in a state of shock, particularly the infants,

who should have been kept with their mothers.

Once the trappers returned to their village, the dealer arrived and a price for the monkeys was

negotiated. The adult female was sold at $125 and juveniles at $50 each. BUAV investigators were

told that two of the monkeys would remain in the dealers house for a further two days, where human

adults and children and at least one dog were present, before being taken by motorbike to the primate

farm. They were placed inside a cage, but still cruelly restrained in the tied bags. This unfamiliar

environment would have been extremely distressing to these monkeys. Wild caught macaques are

sold to various breeding farms in Cambodia.


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Breeding facility

The BUAV investigation has uncovered the massive breeding operations that have been set up in

Cambodia where thousands of monkeys, confined in pens, await their fate. At one such facility, Vanny

Bio-Research, large groups of monkeys were held in almost barren concrete and chain link pens.

Although there were a few platforms and a swing, the concrete floors were barren; there was no other

enrichment and no high level platforms or places to hide. These conditions would be extremely

stressful for the monkeys who were being forced to live in an open space. In the wild, when stressed,

they escape and hide by climbing high into the trees.

Most shocking was the confinement of many monkeys on their own in rows of small, barren cages

with metal grate floors. Some of the cages contained nursing females with their infants. There were

also infant monkeys, too young to be away from their mothers, housed on their own or in pairs. There

was no sign of their mothers. It was a pitiful sight as they clung desperately to each other and the soft

toys that were in some of the cages. These conditions inflict immense suffering and distress. Monkeys

are intelligent and social animals with a complex array of behavioural and psychological needs and

need the companionship of others as well as a stimulating environment. Keeping them in forced

solitary confinement or without their mothers or family groups in such barren conditions is

unconscionably cruel.

Breaches in international guidelines

The BUAV has a number of concerns regarding various aspects of the Cambodian primate trade

industrys failure to comply with international animal welfare guidelines - the International

Primatological Societys (IPS) guidelines on the acquisition, care and breeding of nonhuman primates.

Of particular concern were the inhumane and cruel methods used to trap wild monkeys and the

inadequate conditions in which captive primates were housed at the primate breeding company,

Vanny Bio-Research.


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IPS Guideline capture of monkeys from the wild:

The capture of primates from the wild is challenging and potentially dangerous for the animals.

Inexperienced handling can lead to significant morbidity and mortality for the animals. Methods

used to capture and handle primates, which vary widely between species and countries, should

always be humane and cause minimal stress. Institutions should ensure that anyone trapping

primates is adequately trained and competent in humane methods of capture. The practice of

mother-killing to obtain infants is unacceptable. Capture methods should not render animals, or

their troop members, unduly susceptible to injury or death. Animals should not be captured in traps

likely to produce injury or left in traps for any period likely to cause harm or distress.

Statement from Veterinary advisor :

Trapping method

The monkeys in question were free-living (wild) individuals, present in dense vegetation within a

water substrate. Trapping involved frightening the monkeys by beating the vegetation with poles,

driving them to the water where submerged nets were set. The monkeys apparently tried to swim

under water and were then caught up in the nets. Driving monkeys in this fashion is frightening and

highly stressful and could lead to death through physiologic collapse (distress). I did not see any

surfacing in the nets, probably because of the presence of men and boats in the immediate vicinity.

The men had to pull the nets out of the water to retrieve the monkeys. It is possible, therefore, that

this method could result in some of the monkeys drowning in the nets before they are retrieved.

Handling of trapped monkeys

The trappers held the monkeys up by their tails and swung them vigorously, apparently in order to

keep the monkeys from biting them. This is a cruel and disrespectful way to treat monkeys.

Because this species of monkey does not have a prehensile tail, such handling could lead to injury,

including the separation of vertebrae in the tail leading to considerable pain. Some of the monkeys

were roughly held with their arms pulled behind them to the point that they touched. This is not a

natural extension of the shoulder joint and could lead to shoulder dislocation. There is no question

that the monkeys were extremely frightened.


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IPS Guideline:

The captive environment should incorporate sufficient usable space and environmental complexity

to allow primates to show a wide repertoire of behavior appropriate for the species, including

beneficial social behavior.

The provision of compatible companions greatly extends the range of activities possible for the

individual. Primates of gregarious species should, unless there are compelling medical or scientific

reasons for not doing so, be housed socially in shared enclosures.

Where single caging is absolutely unavoidable, the primates environment can be improved by

environmental enrichment to encourage a varied daily time budget, exercise, both physical and

mental, and the development of motor skills.

Statement from Veterinary advisor :

The video footage taken at the primate facility showed that essentially barren concrete and chain

link enclosures were being used to hold numerous young and adult cynomolgus monkeys. The

floors were concrete. Although there were a few low to mid-level platforms and a swing, there was

no other enrichment and no high level platforms that would be important for this species which

climbs high into trees when stressed as these monkeys clearly were. As a result, the monkeys

climbed as high as they could along the chain link and hung there. There were females with

nursing babies. The monkeys had thin metal collars around their necks, each with a large metal

medallion in front. These collars were tight enough in some cases to indent the neck, particularly

when the monkey moved her or his head to the side. The medallions often stuck out and could not

lie flat, further discomfiting the monkeys. Water was available only by means of a pipe with a

licking apparatus on the end; no tubs were present to provide the monkeys with a means of getting

into water. Food appeared to consist only of biscuits which were strewn about the concrete floors

amongst urine and faeces.

Continued


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The export bus iness

Thousands of Cambodian monkeys have already been exported to primate dealers and laboratories

primarily in the USA and China. The most recent figures available by CITES show that in 2006, over6,000 monkeys were exported to China and about 2,500 were exported to research facilities in the

USA. China Southern Airlines has transported hundreds of primates from Cambodia in the last couple

of years.

The BUAV investigation also revealed that the primate dealers in Cambodia are now trying to expand

their business and appear to have their sights set on Europe. Only a few months ago, a shipment of

52 monkeys was sent to a laboratory in France by Vanny Bio-Research and a CITES export permit

was granted by the Cambodian CITES authorities to Vanny Bio-Research to send a shipment ofmonkeys to the UK.

Statement f rom Veterinary advisor continued

Monkeys were also housed singly in small, barren metal cages with metal grate floors. There was

no enrichment. Nursing mothers were seen. There were also infant monkeys, sometimes two to a

cage, with no evidence of mothers, yet these individuals were too young to be away from their

mothers. Some infants had been given stuffed toys to which they clung. Water in these cages was

provided by pipe and licking apparatus as in the pens.

The pens were totally inappropriate for monkeys. There should have been an earthen floor with

vegetation, branches or other climbable structures that extended as high as possible in the

enclosure, sources of water that allowed for immersion of the monkeys, places to hide from either

aggressors or human observers. The cages were even worse in that there was nothing for the

monkeys, particularly for those adults, housed singly. Social contact is critical for the well-being of

monkeys. These cages also prevented the animals from hiding, climbing or other normal activity.

Their welfare was being seriously compromised.


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Extracts from BUAV Investigators log

The tree is beaten and the trappers close in inside the tree. One of the young macaques jumps into

the submerged net. The trappers quickly rush to the net. There is a trail of bubbles as the macaque

swims under the water. A trapper jumps into the corner of the net and grabs the young macaque. The

macaque is swung onto our boat by his tail, whilst the trapper is still holding him to avoid being bitten.

The macaques arms are twisted behind his back and held with his tail. A plastic mesh bag is

produced; the macaque placed in it and the bag is tied at the top.

The macaques had made no noise up until then. I assume they were probably in shock. The baby

began to call from Mr Gs boat and also one of the young in our boat began to call. When they were

close enough, they communicated with each other. The crying was pitiful.

A veter inarians perspective

As a veterinarian experienced with nonhuman primates, I found the video footage extremely

disturbing. I was shocked by the cruelty of the trapping method used, the brutal manner in which the

monkeys were handled and treated by the trappers, and the conditions in which the monkeys were

kept in the boats and in the holding facility. There is no doubt that these animals suffered greatly,

which should raise serious animal welfare concerns for anyone. This species of primate is highly

intelligent, social and sensitive. As a result, the monkeys clearly experienced terror and stress at

being caught in such a brutal way, taken from their natural habitat, separated from their family and

social groups and thrust into an unfamiliar and restricted environment. This was particularly so for the

infants who were separated from their mothers. Any responsible country or laboratory that claims to

be concerned about animal welfare and is currently importing primates from Cambodia should

immediately dissociate themselves from this blatant cruelty and stop importing primates from this

country.

Nedim C. Buyukmihci, V.M.D., Emeritus Professor of Veterinary Medicine

University of California, Davis

BUAV, October 2008

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