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Letters From the Field ~ A Blog
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Letters From the Field is a
blog written by contributors studying or
working with animals in their natural
habitats. It is a compilation of their
stories and/ or experiences.
If you would like to share your experiences
by contributing to this blog, please
contact us.
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Why Are Millions of Macaques Coming Out of
Southeast Asia? |
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April 10, 2010 |
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Written by
Kaitlyn-Elizabeth Foley
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Macaques are traded to supply demand from
pet and meat markets, and for use in
biomedical research. Long-tailed macaques (Macaca
fascicularis) are the most heavily
traded macaque species in Southeast Asia.
Breeding facilities have been established in
Viet Nam, Myanmar, Cambodia and Indonesia to
supply the ever increasing demand for
macaques. There is concern that many
breeding facilities are hunting local
specimens and then exporting these
"wild-caught" macaques as "captive-bred".
There are 13 species of macaque found in
Southeast Asia. All are listed under
Appendix I or II on the Convention by the
Trade of Endangered Species of Wild Fauna
and Flora (CITES). This means that trade is,
in theory, restricted to CITES imposed
quotas, and compliance with these quotas
is tracked by the requisite import and export
permits.
According to records of these permits, the
primary importer of long-tailed macaques is
the US, followed by China and the EU. In
four years (2004 - 2008) the US imported over
a million long-tailed macaques, comprising
over half of the total international trade.
(See Table 1) The level of illegal trade, where CITES
permits are either not produced or are
falsified, is not clear.
Macaques are locally thought of as "pests"
as they are forced into human settlements
(cities, villages, and towns) due to forest
destruction and habitat loss. To date,
little is known about the impact trade has
on wild populations of macaques. Even though
populations are assumed to be robust, many
conservation organizations have reported
local declines of long-tailed macaques.
In
addition to threats to conservation, there
are serious welfare implications regarding the trade
of macaques:
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Infants are prematurely separated from their
mothers causing severe stress to both mom
and baby
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Animals are housed in less than adequate
conditions and unable to engage in species
specific (natural) behaviors
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There are severe levels of stress in
animals' daily lives as a result of
separation, transportation and, in the case
of animals in research, being exposed to
invasive experiments
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The mundane, lonely and stressful lives of
these animals can give rise to illnesses and
stereotypic/ abnormal behaviors.
Like humans, Long-tailed macaques are highly
social, sentient beings. They play a pivotal
role, like all living things, in the
eco-system. The trade and laundering of
wild-caught macaques as captive-bred is
detrimental to the conservation of nature.
In addition, the trade of primates as pets,
for meat and use in biomedical research is
inhumane. Non-human primates belong in the
wild.
As
sad as this situation is, there is hope! You
can help.
Take Action
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Write to your State Senator
or Representative and express
your concern about the use of nonhuman
primates in research
in your area. Suggest that they urge and
encourage a switch to more ethical
means of biomedical research by using
available and more viable alternatives, for
example, 3D human skin models to test
irritation and allergies; cytoxicity assays
to test toxicity level; neutral red release
assays to test eye irritations.
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Be a conscious consumer; buy products that
are ethically sourced.
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Spread the word.
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Table 1: US Imports of Long-tailed Macaques
(2004 - 2008)*
Year
Individuals
2004
371,424
2005
278,358
2006
140,689
2007
185,540
2008
213,716
TOTAL
1,189,727
*
Obtained from World Conservation
Monitoring Center (WCMC) database on February
16, 2010 |
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These are
photos taken in Riau, Indonesia as
wild-caught long-tailed macaques are
being
captured for export
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Terrified
captured babies.
Photo
Credit: Chris R. Shepherd/ TRAFFIC
Southeast Asia
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View video
of wild long tail macaques
courtesy of ARKive.org:
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 Conservationists
sound alarm over macaque
AFP July 15, 2011, 6:27 pm
KUALA LUMPUR (AFP) - The long-tailed macaque
is being threatened with extinction by a
huge surge in international trade and the
destruction of its habitat in Southeast
Asia, conservationists said on Friday.
Species Survival Network (SSN), an
international coalition of over 80
charities, says trade in the species had
more than doubled in the second half of the
last decade.
The group is pressing countries taking part
in a meeting of the Convention on
International Trade in Endangered Species of
Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) in Geneva this
month to review the impact on the macaque of
the trade.
"The long-tailed macaque is the most
heavily-traded mammal currently listed on
the CITES appendices and our research
findings raise alarming questions concerning
the long-term viability of targeted
populations of the species if this trade is
allowed to continued at current levels," Ian
Redmond, chairman of the SSN Primate Working
Group said in a statement.
Traders sold more than 260,000 long-tailed
macaques -- found mainly in Cambodia,
Indonesia, Laos, the Philippines and Vietnam
-- between 2004 and 2008, a huge rise from
the nearly 120,000 between 1999 and 2003.
The breeding and supply of the monkey has
developed into a large scale business
enterprise mainly in Southeast Asia with
most exported for medical and scientific
purposes.
Redmond said the population was also
dwindling due to hunting, habitat loss and
degradation, and human encroachment.
"There is also evidence of an illegal trade
in wild-caught long-tailed macaques that is
likely to have a significant impact on
populations," he said.
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