Thai monkey trainer rejects PETA claims on coconut harvesting (update)

Nirun Wongwanich, 52, a monkey trainer, training one of his monkey during a training session at a monkey school for coconut harvest in Surat Thani province, Thailand, on July 10, 2020. - Reuters

BANGKOK, July 12 (Reuters): A monkey trainer in southern Thailand said on Sunday that few monkeys are involved in harvesting coconuts for export, disputing an activist report which has caused several British supermarkets to ban coconut products from the country.

Nirun Wongwanich, 52, who trains monkeys to fetch coconuts at a "monkey school" in the province of Surat Thani, said most coconuts used for export are harvested by humans with poles.