Monkeys still forced to pick coconuts in Thailand despite controversy

Months after reports that Thailand coconut farmers rely on monkey labor, a new investigation shows little action has been taken.

BY RACHEL FOBAR

 

Pig-tailed macaques are trained to climb trees and pick coconuts on farms throughout southern Thailand. When they’re not working, they’re often kept in chains.

 

Farmers in Thailand are still using monkey labor to supply coconuts to the international market, according to new information from the Asia branch of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA). 

 

This comes about six months after the animal rights organization released findings from a 2019 undercover investigation. The report spurred coconut product companies, supermarket chains, and the Thai government to give assurances that monkeys would no longer be forced to harvest coconuts.

 

Thailand is the world’s third largest exporter of coconuts, after Indonesia and the Philippines, exporting more than 500,000 tons in 2019. The popularity of coconut milk as an alternative to dairy milk has grown steadily during the past five years, says Avinash Desamangalam, research manager at Mordor Intelligence, a company based in India that studies the market for alternatives to dairy products. He says the industry’s growth rate is expected to nearly double in the next five years.

 

Full story: https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/article/monkey-labor-continues-in-thailands-coconut-market

 

-- © Copyright NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC 2021-02-22

 

The moneys need to unionize and engage in collective bargaining, Its the only way to stand up to the Men.

I don't understand this controversy at at all, are the monkeys being abused, overworked, starved maltreated or neglected in anyway shape of form? so what next? stop other farm animals from preforming their duties? theses are domesticated monkeys that have been trained to work, so it is ok to lock them up in small zoo cages for the rest of their lives and make money of them but it is wrong to send them up the tree to pick up a coconut?...

40 minutes ago, webfact said:

The popularity of coconut milk as an alternative to dairy milk has grown steadily during the past five years, says Avinash Desamangalam, research manager at Mordor Intelligence, a company based in India that studies the market for alternatives to dairy products.

1) Good to see Sauron's keeping busy. I hope the pay and conditions for Avinash and the other orcs fulfill PETA's stringent standards.

2) It does sound like the monkeys are being abused quite badly. But I wonder if there are ways to train and look after the monkeys humanely, that could be developed if PETA worked with the coconut farmers, rather than destroying their livelihoods. People are animals too, after all...

36 minutes ago, ezzra said:

I don't understand this controversy at at all, are the monkeys being abused, overworked, starved maltreated or neglected in anyway shape of form?

Good point. I presume you are wanting to know if they are getting favorable treatment over foreign workers from Lao and Myanmar.

It would be cheaper and less controversial to replace the monkeys with English teachers.

 

17 minutes ago, donnacha said:

It would be cheaper and less controversial to replace the monkeys with English teachers.

With the added bonus of English-speaking coconuts

2 minutes ago, onebir said:

With the added bonus of English-speaking coconuts

They could well end up running this country ????

Not exactly a difficult job, why are they moaning, maybe join a monkey union

2 minutes ago, donnacha said:

They could well end up running this country ????

One of them is.

2 hours ago, webfact said:

The popularity of coconut milk as an alternative to dairy milk has grown steadily during the past five years, says Avinash Desamangalam, research manager at Mordor Intelligence, a company based in India that studies the market for alternatives to dairy products

 

Yea an' he's nuts as well if he thinks proper milk in your tea is gonna be replaced by this .. Avinash I'm off for a slash on that suggestion .. 

 

33 minutes ago, donnacha said:

It would be cheaper and less controversial to replace the monkeys with English teachers.

 

But, there is actual work to be done! 

1 hour ago, donnacha said:

It would be cheaper and less controversial to replace the monkeys with English teachers.

 

 

Then there would be complaints about sending elephants to pick coconuts ????

What did you expect from this bunch of lazy inadequates? 

 

Of course there was no action taken, as long as there's money to be made anything goes, including animal abuse. 

 

 

Monkeys are the most filthy vile disease-ridden creatures on the planet.  They tear each other to shreds, and starve the weak.

The monkeys that are kept for this kind of work have a great life and have it easy.

Honestly, drive by one of those temples and just look at those things.  

Doesn't look so bad.

 

3 hours ago, bangkokfrog said:

Good point. I presume you are wanting to know if they are getting favorable treatment over foreign workers from Lao and Myanmar.

Of course they are...let's face it they work for actual peanuts 

They are only doing the jobs that Thai's wont do.

6 hours ago, ezzra said:

I don't understand this controversy at at all, are the monkeys being abused, overworked, starved maltreated or neglected in anyway shape of form? so what next? stop other farm animals from preforming their duties? theses are domesticated monkeys that have been trained to work, so it is ok to lock them up in small zoo cages for the rest of their lives and make money of them but it is wrong to send them up the tree to pick up a coconut?...

Fair point.

The alternative is for humans to do this work with greater risk than the monkeys.  Animal rights activists have been very vocal about monkeys doing this (easy for them) job.  I haven't heard anything from them about humans collecting coconuts.

It gives the monkeys something to do. I hear they get bored easily. 

 

Some people are far more concerned about the welfare of animals, than people. I get it, if the animals are being abused. But, putting them to work? 

 

Reminds me of the people who campaign for the feeding of soi dogs. Talk about misplaced priorities and PC weakness. 

peta is a BS group of idiots that will lie and use innuendo to get their agenda across to people, you only have to look at what they did with aussie sheep farmers, in the US they were stealing peoples pets and putting them down, they put down all the animals they are supposed to be protecting, they are just so full of BS. Our local monkey school treats their monkees that well it isnt funny as do most of the people that use them, there always are the bad ones but most are good and treat their monkees just like family and far out weigh the ones that treat monkees badly. Peta only records the bad and never the good because that would destroy their agendas, peta have been shown time and again of being hypocrites and for blatantly lying/making false accusations as they are doing here, all that is needed is to remove those that are treating the monkess badly and set up regulations so it cannot continue then let the good ones like our local monkey school continue.

Dogs FORCED to round up sheep in England...............Out working in all weathers--inhuman conditions...........

6 hours ago, ezzra said:

I don't understand this controversy at at all, are the monkeys being abused, overworked, starved maltreated or neglected in anyway shape of form? so what next? stop other farm animals from preforming their duties? theses are domesticated monkeys that have been trained to work, so it is ok to lock them up in small zoo cages for the rest of their lives and make money of them but it is wrong to send them up the tree to pick up a coconut?...

I doubt they'll be caged. IMO more likely to be released in the jungle where they'll live short miserable lives and die because they are domesticated and don't know how to survive.

Happened to dogs in the past.

7 hours ago, sirineou said:

The moneys need to unionize and engage in collective bargaining, Its the only way to stand up to the Men.

I like this idea best. ????

The monkeys know which coconuts are ripe and pick the correct ones! 

12 minutes ago, sanuk711 said:

Dogs FORCED to round up sheep in England...............Out working in all weathers--inhuman conditions...........

 

Plus dogs forced to lead blind people around.

 

Also don't get me started on horses forced to run and jump with people on their backs.

 

4 minutes ago, thaibeachlovers said:

I doubt they'll be caged. IMO more likely to be released in the jungle where they'll live short miserable lives and die because they are domesticated and don't know how to survive.

Happened to dogs in the past.

My misses says monkeys are very tasty in stew.

Which is a more likely scenario than being released into the jungle.

I wonder what will be targeted next.

Pack animals like mules, camels, yaks etc which are used in parts of the world where there are no viable alternative means of transport?

^Guide dogs for the blind, search and rescue dogs, police dogs, ^^^^sheepdogs?

^Racehorses?

I’m sure we can find loads more examples which are important to certain ways of life and economics.

18 minutes ago, ThaidDown said:

Plus dogs forced to lead blind people around.

 

Also don't get me started on horses forced to run and jump with people on their backs.

 

Yer --me too.....................Parrots forced to learn another Language.........