Thailand sending four orangutans home to Indonesia
The orangutans were seized in two separate illegal wildlife trade cases earlier this year, according to the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation.
Three were confiscated on Jan 21 in Chumphon province, while two were seized during a sting operation in Bangkok in May — although one died while under the department's care.
All of the surviving animals are being housed at the Khao Prathap Chang Wildlife Rescue Centre in Ratchaburi province.
Sadudee Panpakdee, director of the department's Cites division, said Thai and Indonesian security authorities recently held talks on joint efforts to combat transboundary wildlife crime and return trafficked animals to their natural habitats.
'We reaffirmed our commitment to the Cites (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species) agreement to conserve and protect wildlife,' he said.
'Sending the orangutans home this year symbolises our strong bilateral cooperation.'
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