Patients range from delicate sugar gliders intended as pets, to some of the hefty rescued elephants that roam WFFT's expansive facility in Phetchaburi, Bangkok.
00:00At Thailand's only NGO-run wildlife hospital, Yong, a pig-tailed macaque, is receiving life-changing care.
00:10Rescued from a life of harvesting coconuts, Yong's story highlights the critical work of the Wildlife Friends Foundation Thailand, based in Bangkok.
00:19Sedated by a tranquilizer dart, Yong underwent a thorough health check, including blood tests, x-rays and a symbolic removal of the metal rings from his neck,
00:29a painful reminder of his chained past.
00:32His journey culminated in a vasectomy, preparing him to join a new group of rescued monkeys.
00:37The newly opened hospital at WFFT in Fetchaburi is a dream project for founder Edwin Weick.
00:44Replacing a tiny previous clinic, this expanded facility now accommodates a diverse range of patients, from sugar gliders to rescued elephants.
00:53Veterinarian Siripo and Tipol noted the challenges of treating such varied species, often requiring creative solutions for equipment.
01:02We have to find the appropriate techniques that we use.
01:08So, if we don't need to, we need to DIY the specs that we need to use.
01:22WFFT's vital role extends beyond medical care.
01:25It acts as a force multiplier for Thailand's Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation,
01:31assisting in the rehabilitation of injured and displaced animals.
01:36Edwin Weick, who started WFFT in 2001 with just a few macaques and a gibbon,
01:41now oversees a 120 hectare facility housing 60 species.
01:46He advocates for stronger wildlife protections in Thailand.
01:49First of all, the day I started with the rescue center, I've always dreamed about having a proper medical facility.
01:58And we had a tiny but well-running clinic until last month at the old building.
02:06But with the amount of cases that we get in, and also with the severity of some cases that we get in,
02:12we needed really a bigger place, more surgery rooms, a treatment room.
02:17A key campaign for WFFT focuses on thousands of monkeys, like Yong, exploited in the coconut industry.
02:25Weick works for not only the animal welfare issues, but also the illegal removal of these animals from the wild,
02:31which severely impacts species survival.
02:34WFFT is actively collaborating with authorities and the coconut industry
02:38to encourage a shift away from using monkeys.
02:41I started WFFT in 2001 after seeing so many wild animals being kept by people at their houses,
02:50animals being exploited in tourism, and also the illegal wildlife trafficking.
02:55And I started very small with two monkeys and one gibbon.
03:00And that hobby got out of hand, you can say, after 25 years.
03:05But how amazing would it be that in maybe five or ten years, when animals are confiscated at the border or anywhere else,
03:12we could actually take some samples, check their DNA and then prove where they came from.
03:17It would be impossible for people to deny that that tiger with that DNA did not come from the farm that we already have the samples from.
03:27Or that we know that this DNA came from the wild.
03:31And where in the wild?
03:33And this is something I really want to work on.
03:35The laws are there.
03:37We lack the enforcement.
03:38But with this tool, we could actually do some real damage to these illegal water traffickers.
03:45Looking ahead, WIEC envisions a forensics lab to help trace the origins of trafficked animals.
03:50The hospital also continues to seek essential equipment like a mobile X-ray unit and specialized blood analysis machines
03:56to further enhance its critical care capabilities.
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