The Honorable Samdech Hun Sen
Prime Minister of the Royal Government of Cambodia
Office of the Council of Ministers
41, Russian Federation Blvd.
Phnom Penh
Cambodia

I am shocked by the findings from the investigation by the British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection (BUAV) into the trade in primates for research in Cambodia.
The methods used to catch and hold the wild monkeys were cruel and stressful. The deliberate separation of a nursing mother and her baby would have caused immense suffering and showed a disregard for the welfare of the animals. Furthermore, the conditions in which captive primates were kept failed to meet the many complex behavioral and psychological needs of these highly intelligent and social animals.

The long-tailed macaque is a protected species, classified as Appendix II under CITES (Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species).

Cambodia is a country rich in natural beauty and wildlife. I urge you to protect your indigenous primate populations and place an immediate ban on the trapping, breeding and export of the long tailed macaque.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely,
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Dansk oversættelse:

Jeg er rystet over afsløringerne af indfangning af og handel
med vilde aber i Cambodja.

Metoderne, der anvendes til at indfange aberne, er
hårdhændede og påfører dyrene stor angst og lidelse. Episoden, hvor jægere
adskiller en mor og hendes diende unge, har uden tvivl været en dybt
traumatiserende oplevelse for begge dyr, og jægernes opførsel er udtryk for
total ligegyldighed over for dyrenes velfærd. Makakaber er intelligente og
sociale dyr, men forholdene under hvilke dyrene opstaldes, tilgodeser på ingen
måde dyrenes komplekse, psykologiske behov.

Den langhalede makakabe er klassificeret under
CITES-konventionens Appendiks II.

Cambodja har et rigt plante- og dyreliv. Jeg opfordrer Dem
til at beskytte Deres abebestande og til at indføre et forbud mod indfangning,
avl og eksport af langhalede makakaber.

Jeg ser frem til at høre fra Dem.

Med venlig hilsen