Thailand’s monitor lizards tipped as next big ‘economic animal’ in luxury leather

FILE PHOTO: Monitor lizard at Penang Botanic Gardens located at Jalan Kebun Bunga in Penang, October 25,2023. —ZHAFARAN NASIB/The Star

BANGKOK: Thailand’s Asian water monitors are being championed as a new “economic animal”, poised to enter the lucrative 7.6 billion baht (US$234.7 million) leather market.

The move follows a government decision that allows for the commercial breeding of the reptiles, which are native to the region.