Macaques found stuffed in smugglers' pickup
published : 7 Mar 2023 at 06:02
writer: Gary Boyle
ORIGINAL SOURCE/WRITER: Prasit Tangprasert
Forty-seven macaques being smuggled out of Thailand for probable use in Chinese traditional medicine were found in cages on the back of pickup truck in Nakhon Ratchasima.
They were rescued by police and two men were arrested.
Police stopped two pickup trucks around 2am on Monday. One of the pickups was found to be carrying many plastic cages packed with a total of 47 live macaques in small bags. One of the animals was sick.
Police said the driver and his accomplice admitted to transporting the monkeys, but claimed they were unaware the animals were protected wildlife and that they were breaking the law.
The driver said he was paid 17,000 baht to pick up the cages from Ratchaburi and deliver them near the Laos border in Nong Khai province.
Macaques are a protected animal under the Wildlife Conservation and Protection Act.
The macaques were destined for China, officials said, believing they were for use in Chinese traditional medicine.
The rescued animals would be taken to a wildlife centre in Chaiyaphum.
Vocabulary
- accomplice: a person who helps someone else to commit a crime or to do something morally wrong - ผู้สมรู้ร่วมคิด
- arrest: (of the police) taking someone to a police station because they are believed to have committed a crime - การจับกุม
- cage (noun): a container made of wire or metal bars and usually used for keeping birds or animals in - กรง
- destined: on the way to - มุ่งหน้าไปทาง
- macaques (noun): a type of monkey that lives in Africa and Asia - ลิงแสม
- pickup truck (noun): a vehicle with low sides and no roof at the back used, for example, by farmers - รถพิกอัป, รถกระบะ
- protected animal: an animal protected by law, making it illegal to to kill or harm the animal -
- rescue: to save a person or animal from a dangerous or unpleasant situation - ช่วยชีวิต
- smuggle: to take drugs, money, people, etc. to or from a place secretly and often illegally - ลักลอบนำเข้า
- smuggler: a person who takes things or people to or from a place secretly and often illegally - ผู้ลักลอบขนสินค้าหรือคนหรือสัตว์เข้าและออกจากประเทศอย่างผิด
- stuffed: packed; very full of something - แน่น ซึ่งใส่ไว้จนเต็ม
- traditional (adj): of a custom, a way of life or a way of doing things that has not changed for a long time - เป็นประเพณี, ตามธรรมเนียม, ตามที่ปฏิบัติกันมา
- unaware: not understanding or realising something - ซึ่งไม่รู้ตัวมาก่อน
