Update on monkey coconut slavery in Thailand
Are your coconuts supporting monkey slavery?
Because of PETA’s campaign to expose monkey coconut picking slaves in Thailand, major companies in the UK and U.S. have boycotted Thai coconut products. I am happy this happened since I have been disturbed by this practice ever since I witnessed it first hand while living on the island of Koh Phangan in Southern Thailand.
Not every coconut in Thailand is picked by monkeys. Most aren’t. The problem is that Thailand currently doesn’t have a way to trace the exact source of all the coconuts they sell.
A small farm that uses monkey slavery can sell their slave coconuts to a bigger company who in turn uses the slave coconuts and it gets mixed with coconuts that get picked by humans. It’s a small percentage compared to the tons of coconuts picked by humans that are exported from Thailand, but monkey slavery is still cruel and needs to end.
The good thing about the PETA campaign is that it raised awareness on this issue. They have the money and resources to bring attention to important animal rights issues like monkey slavery, but their approach can sometimes hurt the causes they claim to be fighting for because of their underhanded and deceptive tactics.
Some Thai people have spoken out against PETA’s campaign. Mr. Atthawich Suwanpakdee, secretary-general of the Kla Party states,
“PETA’s concern over animal cruelty is understandable, but its campaign for countries to ban coconut products from Thailand is cruel and an insult to our culture. Nowadays, one should respect racial and cultural diversity.”
Narisroj Fuangrabil , Former Thai ambassador to Argentina says,
“In many parts of southern Thailand, monkeys are traditionally raised as companions, pets, and family members and thus are trained to pick coconuts for small scale farming for the livelihood of the family.
“The bond between monkeys and their owners is genuine and undeniable. It is similar to how dogs and eagles are trained to assist in hunting or sports. While the practice of retaining animals for traditional use exists in Thailand, they are not connected to the modern industrial supply chain.
“Monkeys are intelligent animals and will not respond positively to torture or abuse. Thai society does not tolerate acts of cruelty towards animals and any individual act violating animal welfare laws is strictly enforced in the country.”
I don’t think PETA is being racist or xenophobic. They did exaggerate to get attention, which is something they are famous for. I think it’s important to be culturally sensitive when talking about animals rights.
Culture is complex, especially when you are remarking on a culture that isn’t yours.
I think discussing the complexities, learning as much as you can about the culture, and understanding that culture’s perspective is a good start to see how we can help animals and people in different countries.
Narisroj Fuangrabil’s claim that “Thai society does not tolerate acts of cruelty towards animals” is not entirely accurate. Outwardly, Thai people condemn animal cruelty and look after cats and dogs, but working elephants, wild animal shows, exotic animals being sold as pets, baby wildlife being stolen from the wild to be used for tourist photo-ops, and monkeys being used to pick coconuts are not seen as animal cruelty but they totally are.
Thailand has amazing landmarks, beaches, natural spaces, malls, temples, and art to help entertain locals and foreigners, exploiting wild animals isn’t necessary. But both tourists and locals need to agree to end this cruel trade and stop giving money to animal attractions.
There are animal welfare groups that have been working hard to improve the way wild animals are treated here, but it has been baby steps along Mount Everest. Thailand isn’t the only country dealing with a wildlife exploitation problem, this is happening all over SE ASIA. It’s not easy to end this, especially when animal exploitation makes a lot of money.
That’s why PETA’s campaign was so effective.
It stopped the cash flow and the Thai government and Thai coconut companies responded immediately. Asking nicely and writing letters doesn’t work, so many animal welfare groups have tried that and continue to, and nothing changes.
There’s way to respect different cultures and end animal abuse and exploitation. A boycott is a good way to do this but activists involved in the campaign need to see it through and give people an alternative way to make a living and also help care for the animals who end up being rescued.
Activists also need to work closely with local animal and human rights groups, especially those run by locals and not foreigners, so that they understand the culture, social structures, and laws surrounding animal rights causes. This is also a good way to avoid colonialist behavior.
It is also important not to exaggerate claims and mislead people like PETA did when they said that “According to an industry insider, most coconut that comes from Thailand was picked by monkeys.” There are still thousands of monkeys who are being used in smaller farms or on islands and there is a chance these smaller farms can sell to bigger companies.
PETA should have been more clear and not have exaggerated the numbers. I feel like they did that did this because they knew it would be more effective than saying “a small percentage of coconuts picked in Thailand are picked by monkey slaves but there is a chance that slave coconuts are being sold to bigger companies since Thailand doesn’t have a way to monitor where all the coconuts come from.”
Despite this, the campaign has worked, and things seem to be looking good for slave monkeys in Thailand.
According to this article from The World, “Embellishments aside, PETA’s campaign may ultimately prove successful. The campaign has officials and exporters scrambling to prove the supply chains are totally monkey-free. And quite a few small-time farmers, fearing negative attention, are looking to free their primate workers.”
This is great, but there aren’t enough resources to take in all the unwanted slave monkeys.
This is where PETA needs to put their monkey where their mouth is. They have a LOT of money and can easily donate to the dozens of local wildlife rescues and support them so that they have the money and resources to take in all these monkeys. So far they haven’t done that. So we’ll see if they donate at all.
It’s one thing to raise awareness on a problem, but you also have to see it through and help the people and animals involved transition into a cruelty-free life.
According to the article, Edwin Wiek, founder Wildlife Friends of Thailand, says the monkey slave trade has been reduced a lot in the last ten years. He estimates that maybe 3,000 or so monkeys are still being used in the coconut trade.
I hope this number goes down to 0 soon and that PETA and other activists donate the funds that they certainly have to help take care of these abandoned slave monkeys. You can donate to Wildlife Friends of Thailand here.
What are your thoughts on this? Did you know about this situation? How do you think animal rights activists should handle helping animals outside of their own county? Or should they at all?
