Abducted as babies, chained up and trained to pick 1,000 coconuts every day: Revealed, how the billion-pound coconut water industry is built on the abuse of monkeys
- Baby monkeys are stolen away from their mothers who are often shot dead
- They are trained to pick the fruit in special schools across south-east Asia
- Most of the coconuts picked in Thailand were by monkeys, reports claim
- Footage and images show monkeys forced to climb trees to pick coconuts
Chained-up
monkeys in south-east Asia could be picking the coconuts used to make
the various trendy brands of water and oil sold in health food stores
and supermarkets across the world.
Baby
monkeys are stolen away from their mothers, who are often shot by
hunters, and sent to special schools where they are taught to pick as
many as 1,000 coconuts a day.
Many
of the coconut-based products, which have become the must-have for
healthy eaters and celebrities alike, are sourced from Thailand where
the majority of coconuts are picked by these cruelly-treated animals,
reports claim.
Several
major brands that MailOnline investigated source their products from
Thailand, as well as the south-east Asian nations of Indonesia and the
Philippines.
These
coconut oils and waters have been espoused by several celebrities who
blog about their health benefits and use them as nutritious alternatives
in their 'free-from' bakes.
And
nearly every supermarket or grocery store now features coconut water,
making the whole industry worth around a billion pounds.
But
as demand grows, so does the abuse of macaque monkeys who suffer
'serious psychological damage' as a result of being chained up
24-hours-a-day.
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Training regime: A monkey named Dam
(pictured) lifts weights made from coconuts at the Phuket Monkey School
in Laem Sai, Thailand
Hard day's work: The monkey's are chained up by their necks and forced to pick as many as 1,000 coconuts a day
Cruelty: Chained-up monkeys (pictured
in Thailand) in south-east Asia could be picking the coconuts used to
make fashionable health products such as coconut water and oil
Aggressive: Animal charity Wild
Futures has told MailOnline that chaining the animals and forcing them
to do menial tasks all day long damages their mental state
Hard labour: Monkeys are abducted from
their mothers as babies, and taken to special schools (pictured in
Thailand) where they are chained up and trained to pick coconuts
Harmful: The monkeys are shown off to
tourists as amusing attractions, but being chained up for up to
eight-hours-a-day causes the socially intelligent creatures serious
damage, animal charities claim
Many
coconut water companies source their product south-east Asian countries
like Indonesia, where 18m tonnes of coconuts are harvested every year,
and Thailand, which produces just over one million tonnes annually.
It is unknown how many of the coconuts used to make the products are picked by monkeys.
But the Bangkok Post claims that if the drink sourced from Thailand, the coconuts were 'most likely' picked by monkeys.
Some monkeys are known to work from 8am to 5pm and only stop for a short break on rainy days and Sundays.
When
they are not working, their owners place a muzzle on their faces and
shackle them to a tree stump or a shed - restricting their movement and
interaction with other monkeys.
A
well-trained monkey can pick hundreds more coconuts than a human, who
are limited to a few hundred at most, and fetch up to £1,200 when sold
to other farmers.
Chained up: Monkeys are forced to work from 8am to 5pm and are shackled even when they are not working
Efficient: Well-trained monkeys
(pictured in Indonesia) can pick up to 1,000 coconuts a day while a
human can pick a few hundred at most
Trained: Monkeys are taught to spin the coconut with both hands and feet to dislodge the coconut quickly
Cruel
process: The monkey's handler hold the rope (top), which is tied to a
chain around its neck, as it climbs the tree and throws coconuts down
(bottom)
Manual labour: Footage shows a monkey
scaling a tree to collect coconuts before his owner yanks the chain
around his neck - signalling him to come back down
Collection: Some monkeys are even
trained to collect coconuts from the ground and place them in bags,
which saves their owners hours of back-breaking labour
Footage
from a monkey training school in Koh Phangan, Thailand, shows a monkey
expertly scaling a tree, removing a coconut and throwing it back down -
all within 30 seconds.
Once it has emptied the tree, the monkey's handler yanks the chain tied around the its neck to make it climb back down.
These
monkeys are shown off to tourists as amusing spectacles by their owners
who claim the animals enjoy climbing and picking fruit.
But
chaining them up the socially-intelligent creatures, and forcing them
to carry out menial tasks, causes 'lasting psychological damage', Claire
Turnbull of the Wild Futures monkey sanctuary told MailOnline.
She
said: 'By keeping them socially isolated, on chains or in small cages,
monkeys can develop a host of abnormal behaviours which range from
"extreme submission" to self-harming behaviour.
'As
they mature, primates naturally become aggressive. In order to keep
them submissive, primates are typically subjected to abusive training
methods which make them anxious and fearful.
'We absolutely urge companies to make sure they source fruit from farms that do not exploit monkeys in this way.'
Monkey schools claim training places emphasis on showing the macaques kindness and never punishing them for mistakes.
Working monkey: A macaque rides on the
back of a pickup truck with its owner at a coconut plantation in
Chumphon province, southern Thailand
Commodity: Well-trained coconut pickers can fetch up to £1,200 when sold to other farmers
False industry: Monkeys are shown off
to tourists as amusing spectacles by their owners who claim the animals
enjoy climbing and picking fruit
The monkeys are taught how to free themselves from become entangled in ropes and even how to select ripe fruit.
According
to the Bangkok Post, one training centre claims that using pig-tailed
macaques is safer than using humans because they are 'strong, enjoy
climbing, do not complain, do not call for higher wages... and are not
corrupt.'
It
adds: 'They do not require social security and accident insurance.
Monkeys are therefore considered a "living machine" that is very
valuable for coconut farmers.'
Some
monkeys are even taught to collect grounded coconuts and put them into
sacks, which saves their owners hours of back-breaking labour.
Locals in Thailand argue that monkeys have been helping their 'human friends' harvest coconuts for hundreds of years.
The Island of Koh Samui
website boasts about how tourists can see monkeys climbing 'at great
speed and flying from tree to tree in their hunt for the ripened
coconuts'.
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HOW MONKEYS ARE TRAINED TO PICK 1,000 COCONUTS A DAY
The First Monkey School in Surat Thani, Thailand, describes how it turns wild monkeys into coconut-harvesting employees on its website.
It
says the monkey should be comfortable in its surroundings, even though
the images and video on the website show the animal chained up.
The monkeys are first taught how to rotate coconuts - which helps loosen them from trees.
A
trainer starts by turning the coconut which has been placed on a pole
and soon, the monkey will become 'curious' and want to copy them.
Once
it has learned how to rotate the coconut with its hands and feet, the
trainer will simulate a real situation by hanging it from a bamboo rod
decorated with some coconut leaves.
No rest: When they are not working
(pictured), their owners place a muzzle on their faces and shackle them
to a tree stump or a shed
The
website says the monkey 'will never climb into a coconut tree without a
line' - which is tethered around its neck - so it must learn to free
itself should that line become stuck.
This is method takes between three and six months to teach and costs £108.
Some
monkeys then qualify for 'secondary school' where they are taught to
pick coconuts and put them in a bag, which they will carry to any place
the owner wants.
This takes another six months and costs the owner £450.
The
highest level of education offered in this establishment is called
'high school', where they teach the monkey to do 'practically everything
the owner wants'.
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