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Inside Cambodia’s booming research monkey trade

2023-04-11

Cambodia's booming monkey trade, fueled by the global demand for medical research animals, has become an extremely profitable but shadowy business with ties to the nation's political elite. China was the world's top supplier of research primates when, in 2020, the country placed a ban on monkey exports to protect domestic COVID-19 vaccine research. As the virus spread and demand for research monkeys surged, Cambodia suddenly became the world's largest supplier of long-tailed macaques. Allegations of illicit trade and fraudulent export permits have led to a high-profile legal case brought by U.S. prosecutors against Cambodian government officials, raising concerns about the origin of the monkeys being shipped worldwide. Cambodian authorities deny any issues with illicit monkey trading, but conservationists have called for tighter regulations on monkey farms for over a decade. But the monkey business offers little incentive for reform due to the financial gains and political connections.