Thai govt vows to return orangutans

JAKARTA: The Thai government asserted on Wednesday that the country would return smuggled orangutans to Indonesia after it is proven that the primates were smuggled into Thailand through a judicial process, the Thai Embassy in Jakarta said in a statement on Thursday.

It said the government was waiting for judicial decision.

"If the judicial process is completed and the orangutans are to be given as state property, the Department of National Park, Wildlife and Plant Conservation of Thailand will then proceed according to the provision of CITES," the statement said.

Article 8 of the CITES Convention states that orangutans illegally brought into a country shall be returned to the state of export or to a rescue center or a place deemed by the Management Authority as appropriate and consistent with the purpose of the present Convention.

The embassy said the Thai authorities were monitoring the health of the orangutans.

The Indonesian government and wildlife activists have repeatedly demanded the return of the primates to their original habitat.

Orangutans have been declared an endangered species and can be found in Kalimantan and Sumatra. After a year-long investigation it was found that 150 orangutans were in the hands of Safari World Bangkok. --JP