Suspected illegal merchant activity involving the precious Macaque monkey has been brought to light when the Haizhou police, of northern Jiangsu’s Lianyungang city, caught monkey traffickers trading online.
According to Weibo’s Sina News, police launched a nationwide hunt for those suspected of trading the petite primate. The 1 month investigation resulted in the arrest of 11 suspects, the linking of an “industrial underground chain” and the rescuing of Macaques from across several provinces, including Shaanxi, Henan and Zhejiang.
The monkeys had been sold on Chinese social media APP WeChat, netting transactions as high as ¥15,000, according to Sina. Monkey traffickers “Are well-organised, and never meet each other, all online transactions”, police said.
Regulated Macaques sell for as little as ¥3,000, however when dealers can sell privately, the price is increased dramatically, garnering profits of over ¥10,000, reports revealed.
Macaques belong to the “old world” and are found throughout Asia. Although the Macaque is adaptable and can live with humans, it is considered a threat to human well-being, due to its ability to carry and transmit fatal diseases, according to Primate Adaption and Evolution, by John G Fleagle.
In China the Macaque is a protected species. In January 2018, Hangzhou, scientists successfully cloned the world’s first Macaque monkeys via somatic cell nuclear transfer, making the country a pioneer in disease and brain research.
According to article 341 of the Criminal Law; the acquisition, transportation and sale of precious and endangered wild animals is illegal. Punishment includes fixed prison terms of 5-10 years, depending on the severity of the crime. The case still remains under investigation.
