During my daily stroll through the interweb, I found an article on NPR about the coconut game in Thailand. In a nutshell {or coconut shell, rather} 99% of Thailand’s coconuts are picked by trained monkeys {no, that is not a commentary on the work force–they are literally monkeys}.
The story originally broke when a farm sanctuary called Animal Place in California contacted NPR to let them know monkeys were being exploited.
My initial reaction to the article was like, “Oh no, monkeys are being mistreated?! Great, now I can’t eat coconut.” Then, I started to think about perspectives and cultural differences. Since, as the article states, there is no evidence of monkeys being mistreated {other than they are tethered to the trees, but I don’t have room to talk, because Lucy is tethered to a leash when we leave the safety of our fenced backyard to keep her from running away and getting hurt}, I started to wonder if this is just a knee-jerk judgement of an age-old industry we don’t understand? We use horses in ranching, dogs for sleds and herding, etc. and just because we put them to work doesn’t mean they are mistreated. However, a monkey being tethered to a tree 24/7 however is totally not cool at at all {if that’s the case}.
Yes, they are no longer in the wild, but we have been domesticating animals for centuries. According to the article, the coconut farmers, by in large, treat the monkeys like pets and working animals.
Then, I remembered a Ted Talk with Mike Rowe. I’ll warn you, he talks about castrating sheep, so if you are squeamish, you may want to pass–but the point is, he questions this sheep herder’s castration process as inhumane, only to find out that he is the one who lacks perspective. Is this one of those moments? {Of course, if the story were to unfold that monkeys were being untreated, that would be awful, and a whole different ball game.}
What do YOU think? Would Curious George be upset? Or do you think this is okay?
~Mavis
John says
I’m OK with it as long as the monkeys don’t try to unionize!
Claire says
LOVE that piece by Mike Rowe on sheep castration practices. It is the perfect example of how the animal welfare industry fills the public with mistrust and misinformation about traditional farming practices. They sometimes have a point but often hearing from both sides is important!
linda says
Surely monkey are not being mistreated. Peta people go crazy over silliest things. I am sure most people can not resist playing with monkeys etc. Monkeys in wild pick coconuts, I am not sure that it so bad they pick them once tame. They are in protected enviroment not being eaten ( which is natural) but I don’t like thinking about that.
Chad says
It makes me wonder why the coconuts are so expensive then. Are they paying the monkeys? Surely, they can’t be great salaray negotiators.