Five new arrivals: Rescuing coconut monkeys from Koh Samui

Last week, our rescue team returned from Koh Samui with five northern pig-tailed macaques, who are now beginning new lives free from fear and exploitation. Four of these monkeys were being used to harvest coconuts, a cruel practice that continues to haunt Thailand’s coconut industry.

All five monkeys are now safely at WFFT. They’ve begun their quarantine period in our new hospital enclosures, where they’ll receive full health checks, vaccinations and microchips. Each health check costs around USD 170 – 200. Can you please donate to help?

They’re beginning their new lives and getting the chance to heal and rediscover what it means to simply be a monkey.

Ending the cruelty behind coconuts

This rescue is part of something much bigger. WFFT is tackling one of the toughest animal welfare issues in Thailand today: ending the use of pig-tailed macaques in the coconut industry.

Monkeys trained to pick coconuts endure unimaginable cruelty. Many are snatched from the wild as infants. They’re chained, beaten, deprived of food in order to get them to climb trees for hours on end – a completely unnatural life.

For years, WFFT has rescued macaques exploited for coconut harvesting. But now we’re working to make real and lasting change: working to phase out this practice entirely. Over the past year, we’ve been working behind the scenes with Thai authorities and leading coconut industry players that represent around 90% of Thailand’s coconut exports. Our joint efforts aim to stop the theft of macaques from the wild, implement humane alternatives and stronger welfare standards, and ultimately phase out and end this exploitation.

Yet, with an estimated  1-3,000 monkeys still trapped in these dire conditions, our work is just beginning. To make a cruelty-free coconut industry a reality, we urgently need funds to secure the land and build the specialised facilities these macaques need to recover and live out their lives in safety.

Please help us rewrite their futures.

Whether you’re an animal lover or a business looking to drive ethical change, your support matters. Only together can we make this dream a reality.

Donate today to help us rescue more coconut monkeys and end this cruelty for good.

Donate by Bank Transfer (The Netherlands)

Wildlife Friends International
(registered foundation in The Netherlands)
“Wildlife Friends International”
ING Bank / account-number: 7243182
Haarlemmerdijk 97
1013 KD Amsterdam
The Netherlands
IBAN: NL12INGB0007243182
Paper form: NL12 INGB 0007 2431 82
BIC: INGBNL2A

Lek is a 9-year-old male who spent years climbing trees to pick coconuts before being retired about a year ago. When we found him, he’d been confined in a tiny cage for two months, placed next to another monkey who was tied to a tree.

Yong, a 6-year-old male, was also retired after the owner changed businesses. He spent much of his time tethered alone to a tree.

Thong Kham, 8 years old, is another male who worked harvesting coconuts before being left chained up behind a house.

Kai Daeng is the youngest at around 4 years old. He has some health concerns that will need addressing at the WFFT hospital.

Chompoo is an older female, likely over 10, who was kept as a pet at a hotel before being taken in by a local rescue foundation eight years ago.