The welfare of rare and often threatened species in Thailand’s tourism and pet trades has long been a concern for animal rights activists.
The conditions in which many of the animals are kept became even direr during the COVID-19 pandemic, when border shutdowns meant no visitor revenue to care for the animals.
NGOs are working to rescue and rehabilitate some of the animals from zoos and private owners, but acknowledge that few, if any, of the animals can ever be released back into the wild.
They add that rescue and rehabilitation is only part of the solution, and that more focus should go on protecting the natural environment and habitats of these animals over the long term.

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