More politicians have come out to reject accusations that monkeys are trained by Thai farmers to harvest coconuts and are often abused, which has prompted boycotts of coconut milk products from Thailand in several Western countries.
Kla Party secretary-general Atavit Suwannapakdee, likened the use of monkeys in coconut picking in Thailand to the use of hogs in finding truffles in some Western countries.
"In our culture, the bond between monkeys and their trainers is undeniable. They work and live together," he wrote in a Facebook post.
In Thailand some monkeys are used to pick coconuts because coconuts are a key ingredient in various Thai dishes, he said. Likewise, in the Western world, hogs are trained to find truffles, which are then used as ingredients in various Western dishes, he said.
Mr Atavit said animal rights group Peta had overreacted by calling for a boycott of Thai coconut products which reflected its cultural ignorance and disrespect for different ways of life.
Action Coalition for Thailand (ACT) co-founder Suthep Thaugsuban said he was born and raised in Surat Thani, a key coconut-growing area in the South, and could guarantee that farmers there treated their monkeys like their own children. The coconut-picking issue was a complete misunderstanding by people not familiar with Thai culture, he said.
However, Peta Senior Vice President Jason Baker yesterday dismissed Commerce Minister Jurin Laksanawisit's denial that Thailand used monkeys to pick coconuts on an industrial scale.
Nitipon Piwmow, a list MP in the Move Forward Party, said he didn't approve of monkeys being forced to work against their will but popular Facebook page Maem Pho Dam accused the Move Forward Party of distorting the facts.