Nearly 50 monkeys discovered in trunk of car in China
Forestry police found the 28 red slender loris and 19 macaques, which had been captured and were about to be sold on the illegal bush meat and medicine markets. The animals have since been released back into the wild.
CEN
Monday, January 5, 2015, 1:05 PM
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CENNearly 50 monkeys were discovered in the trunk of a car in China.
Forestry police made a monkey of animal traffickers in central China when they found nearly 50 wild apes in the trunk of a car.
The monkeys — 28 red slender loris and 19 macaques — had been captured in the wild and were destined for a grisly future in China's thriving but illegal bush meat and medicine markets.
Two men were seized by police in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, and are facing poaching and animal trafficking charges.
"These monkeys were bagged and ready to be butchered,” forestry committee spokesman Kwok Ching from Nanning said.
"They almost looked like stuffed toys in their bags, except for the fact that they were moving."
CENThe animals were doomed to be sold on the bush meat market, but have since been released back into the wild after being found.
He added, "Their meat is highly prized for traditional medicine purposes, and their skin and bones are then ground down as potions. Their fur is used for exotic trimming to clothing."
One monkey had already suffocated in the trunk before police could rescue it.
"The animals all had health checks before they were released back into the wild," Ching said.
