For every monkey that is smuggled, more could have been killed, because most species live in groups. It is therefore not uncommon for poachers to wipe out entire families just to get a single kitten. Small monkey babies are easier to smuggle.
Transporting an adult chimpanzee is like transporting a box of dynamite," said Doug Cress, until recently head of the Great Apes Survival Partnership, a United Nations programme to help apes. "The adults are extremely aggressive and dangerous. That's why everyone wants a baby. „
Wildlife researchers say a secret monkey pipeline from the lush forests of Central Africa and Southeast Asia flows through loosely controlled ports in developing countries and ends up in wealthy homes and unscrupulous zoos thousands of miles away. The pipeline, the documents say, is bribed by corrupt officials (several have been arrested for forging export permits) and run by transnational criminal gangs who have recently attracted the attention of Interpol, the international law enforcement network.
Monkeys are a big business because a baby gorilla can cost up to $250,000. Many times, researchers say, they can only start persecution if they stumble across monkeys posted by the rich on Facebook or Youtube showing their monkeys as pets.
Even if we can save her, it is very difficult to return her to the wild," said Mr. Cress, the former head of the United Nations Great Apes Program. "They are all screwed up. They need serious rehab. Those who have been given alcohol tremble their hands. They have the same withdrawal symptoms as we do. "
International animal welfare laws prohibit the trade of endangered monkeys for commercial purposes. While zoos and other educational institutions are allowed to purchase monkeys, they need permits showing, among other things, that the monkeys have been bred in captivity and not caught in the wild. (All major monkey species are threatened with extinction; most gibbons are also affected).
However, it is relatively easy to forge permits, and wildlife researchers have found illegally sold monkeys in Iraq, China, Dubai and Bangkok's Zoo Safari World, where orangutans have been trained to wear boxing gloves and fight.