Dear Attaporn Charoenchansa, Director-General of the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation

We respectfully ask you to take the necessary steps to close down a monkey zoo and show on Koh Samui due to grave animal welfare and public health concerns, and to retire all the animals to a suitable sanctuary or rescue centre.

Endangered monkey species are chained by their neck and/or confined in tiny cages filled with rubbish. Many exhibit frantic pacing from stress and signs of malnutrition.

Furthermore, many monkeys display repeated coughing, indicative of potential disease. Visitors are encouraged to physically interact with the animals by feeding, touching, and even hugging primates tethered on chains. Such interactions are not only cruel and unnecessary, but also pose a significant potential threat to public health through disease transmission.

Wildlife Friends Foundation Thailand is extending a public offer to provide a sanctuary home to these animals in need of urgent rescue.

Koh Samui is a popular holiday destination for tourists from all over the world. In 2024, no one wants to see animal abuse. There is neither conservation nor educational value in subjecting primates to chains and coerced performances.

The zoo has been allowed to perpetrate animal abuse for far too long. It is time for decisive action. Please close the facility and permit retirement for the animals.

We implore you to prioritise this critical issue.

Yours Sincerely,

Edwin Wiek
Founder and Director
Wildlife Friends Foundation Thailand

A new undercover investigation has revealed heartbreaking conditions for animals at a monkey zoo and show on Koh Samui, in Thailand.

Dozens of monkeys, including infants, are being kept in tiny, rubbish-filled cages. Some even chained by their neck. Footage shows the primates frantically pacing back and forth non-stop, a sign of psychological despair called ‘zoocosis’.

Moved by their plight, Wildlife Friends Foundation Thailand (WFFT) have launched a campaign calling for their rescue. As one of South East Asia’s largest animal sanctuaries across 90 hectares of forested land and an on-site wildlife hospital, we stand ready to assist in rehoming all the animals trapped in this hellhole.

In addition to the disturbing animal cruelty documented at the zoo, the investigation has unveiled alarming public health concerns. Many monkeys at the facility were observed coughing persistently, potentially indicating the presence of infectious diseases such as tuberculosis (TB).

What is particularly concerning is that visitors are actively encouraged to engage in physical interaction with the animals, including feeding, touching, and even hugging the coughing monkeys. Thailand’s burden of human TB is one of the highest in the world, and zoonotic transmission between infected humans and wild or captive macaques is an ongoing public health concern. With Koh Samui a hotspot for tourists around the world, there is legitimate concern about the public health risk posed by this facility.

For years, this zoo has been abusing animals and putting the public at risk. We must finally come together to put a stop to this.

Please sign and share the campaign calling for the zoo and show to be shut down immediately and the animals moved to an appropriate rescue centre. Together, we hope to give these animals the life they deserve.