Thai Monkey Trainer Rejects Claims on Coconut Harvesting
泰国训猴师否认虐待猴子采摘椰子
A monkey trainer in southern Thailand says that few monkeys are involved in harvesting coconuts for export. His message disputes an activist report that led several British supermarkets to ban coconut products.
Nirun Wongwanich trains monkeys to fetch coconuts at a Thai "monkey school." He says most coconuts that are used for export are harvested by humans -- with long sticks.
Only a few farms in the south of Thailand use monkeys for taller coconut trees, he said. He also denied claims of animal abuse.
他表示,泰国南部只有少数农场会训练猴子采摘较高的椰子树。他还否认了虐待动物的这孔梅花。
"There is no truth to that. I have been with monkeys for over 30 years ... I have a bond, a relationship with them," Nirun told the Reuters news agency. He added that he trains six to seven monkeys a year.
Earlier this month, several British companies removed Thai coconut products from their food stores after the group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, or PETA, released a report. The report claimed that coconuts in Thailand are picked by abused monkeys.
PETA has said it believes that all coconuts from Thailand are picked by monkeys.
善待动物组织表示,他们认为所有来自泰国的椰子都是猴子采摘的。
Thailand's government has denied the claims in the PETA report, saying the use of monkey labor is "almost non-existent."
泰国政府否认了该组织报告中的说法,称利用猴子劳作的现象“几乎不存在”。
Mananya Thaiset is Thailand's deputy minister of agriculture. She said Thailand's 200,000 coconut growers use almost all human labor and machines for harvesting.
"Even all the monkeys in the entire forest won't be enough for the industry," Mananya said.
曼安亚指出:“即使发动森林里所有猴子(采摘)也满足不了整个行业的需求。”
A PETA official on Saturday rejected the Thai arguments.
周六,善待动物组织的官员驳斥了泰国方面的说辞。
PETA's Asia official, Nirali Shah, said, "The industry's efforts to sidetrack the issue with a count of the number of farms and monkeys...only shows the world that they are trying to do more of the same – keep monkeys in chains."
Last year, Thailand produced more than 806,000 tons of coconut from more than 1,200 square kilometers, a government report shows. It exported coconut milk worth $396 million. About eight percent of that went to Britain.