50 Smuggled Orangutans Found in Thai Kick-Boxing Theme Park

One of the world’s worst cases of great ape smuggling will draw to a close next week when about 50 orangutans rescued from a Thai amusement park fly home to their native Indonesia.

The animals, many of which were forced to stage mock kick-boxing bouts at the Safari World theme park in Bangkok, will be greeted on their return by Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, the wife of the Indonesian President.

"It’s a huge scandal and it’s cost a lot of time and effort, so I’m really happy to see it coming to an end after more than three years," said Edwin Wiek, of the Wildlife Friends Foundation Thailand.

The orangutans, which are being held in an animal rescue centre west of Bangkok, right, will leave the Thai capital on an Indonesian military transport aircraft, Mr. Wiek said. Fewer than 30,000 orang-utans are thought to be left in the jungles of Malaysia and Indonesia and environmentalists say that the species could become extinct in 20 years.

Blog about this! <b>50 Smuggled Orangutans Found in Thai Kick-Boxing Theme Park</b> <br>Found this on <a href=http://www.ouroddworld.com//e/58/50-Smuggled-Orangutans-Found-in-Thai-Kick-Boxing-Theme-Park.php>OurOddWorld.com</a> <p>One of the world’s worst cases of great ape smuggling will draw to a close next week when about 50 orangutans rescued from a Thai amusement park fly home to their native Indonesia. <br /> <br /> The animals, many of which were forced to stage mock kick-boxing bouts at the Safari World theme park in Bangkok, will be greeted on their return by Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, the wife of the Indonesian President. <br /> <br /> "It’s a huge scandal and it’s cost a lot of time and effort, so I’m really happy to see it coming to an end after more than three years," said Edwin Wiek, of the Wildlife Friends Foundation Thailand. <br /> <br /> The orangutans, which are being held in an animal rescue centre west of Bangkok, right, will leave the Thai capital on an Indonesian military transport aircraft, Mr. Wiek said. Fewer than 30,000 orang-utans are thought to be left in the jungles of Malaysia and Indonesia and environmentalists say that the species could become extinct in 20 years.