Bangkok post: Lack of funds delays apes' trip home

[Guest guest]

Please note that The Thai DNP has been informed that expenses will be

covered by the Indonesian side, however again it seems he plays games to

further delay repatriation.

 

Edwin Wiek

 

<Edwin.wiek Edwin.wiek

 

 

 

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ORANGUTANS

 

Lack of funds delays apes' trip home

 

POST REPORTERS

 

Lack of money is likely to delay identification and repatriation of the 53

orangutans seized from a private Bangkok zoo.

 

The wildlife protection agency says it must wait for " financial support "

from Indonesia to proceed.

 

" We will conduct chromosome testing of the 53 orangutans [to identify their

place of origin] as soon as the Indonesian government confirms that it will

shoulder the expense, " said Schwann Tunhikorn, deputy chief of the National

Parks, Wildlife and Plants Department.

 

Indonesia is believed to be the country of origin of the apes, which ended

up at the Safari World Zoo in Bangkok.

 

The government has vowed to return the primates to their natural habitat on

Sumatra and Borneo islands after a two-year probe and DNA tests suggested

the orangutans were smuggled into Thailand.

 

Safari World operator Pin Kiewkacha was allowed to walk free after handing

the animals over to the department.

 

However, the repatriation process has hit a snag as it remains unclear who

will bear the identification and transport costs.

 

Edwin Wiek, of the Borneo Orangutan Survival Foundation, said the agency had

initially agreed to shoulder the expenses, which could reach 13 million

baht.

 

Wildlife advocates want the apes returned to the wild as soon as possible

since keeping them in cages constitutes a real threat to their survival, he

said.

 

Four of the orangutans have died since they were seized from the zoo two

years ago. Five were " borrowed " to entertain tourists at the Chiang Mai

Night Safari zoo. Currently, only 48 orangutans are being kept at the

state-run wildlife breeding centre in Ratchaburi province.

 

Pornchai Patumarattanathan, a senior official at the centre, said the staff

found it difficult to take care of the apes. They lacked the necessary

equipment and expertise to raise the big animals which were so strong they

could easily tear up their cages. " We call them 'masters of escape'. They

are also very naughty and always bullying one another. Our staff are kept

busy separating them and stopping the fighting, " he said.