A publicly traded American importer of laboratory monkeys says its supply from Cambodia has stopped after the U.S. indicted a Cambodian supplier for allegedly trafficking wild macaques, delaying its fourth-quarter earnings report as two of its subsidiaries face grand jury subpoenas related to the case.
A forest defender group in Prey Lang forest say they have documented unchecked monkey poaching in the fast-disappearing forest, adding that live primates can sell for up to $250 a head.
Monkey exporter Vanny Bio-Research said it would “stand firm by its business model” and denied a U.S. court indictment that it was shipping thousands of endangered wild macaques overseas.
The Agriculture Ministry backed two of its employees who have been charged with smuggling long-tailed macaques — and one of whom was arrested in the U.S. on Wednesday — and said it would make the “utmost efforts” to absolve them.
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