Ninety-six monkeys seized from a car in central Phu Yen Province are attracting public attention as the provincial authorities on Monday sold them to a private-run wildlife farm, instead of releasing them to the forest as they said.
Local police on Saturday seized 96 baby monkeys from a car that was transporting them from the province’s capital city to the north. Tuy Hoa City police said the monkeys were found in plastic baskets with no documentation of their origin.They also found five fake license plates, including a blue one, the color of state vehicle plates.
The driver ran away while police were checking the car.
According to police, they first tried to stop the Toyota Innova for speeding. The driver ignored the signal and police had to chase for 10 kilometers before stopping the car.
The monkeys were identified as the crab-eating macaque (Macaca fascicularis) or long-tailed macaque, a primarily arboreal macaque native to Southeast Asia.
They were handed over to Tuy Hoa City’s Forest Management Bureau the same day.
Much to the public’s surprise, the bureau announced Monday the monkeys were sold to a wildlife farm owned by Le Thanh Tuan, a resident in Dong Hoa District.
The 96 monkeys, weighing a total 174 kilograms, were priced at VND31 million (US$1,678).
Tuan told Thanh Nien reporters his farm had been operating for two years, and that monkeys, turtles and snakes were taken care of until he could sell them again.