The BUAV investigation into the primate trade in Laos has raised concerns that some of monkeys used to establish the farm could have originated from Malaysia.

Malaysia has a longstanding ban against the export of primates which was lifted temporarily in 2007. BUAV investigators were informed by the farm owners that a large number of wild-caught, long-tailed macaques had been imported from Malaysia in recent years to establish the farm. Yet, according to the CITES database, there is no record of the export of these macaques from Malaysia over the past 10 years, not even during the 2007 window in which the Natural Resources and Environment Ministry had lifted its 23-year ban on the capture and export of long-tailed macaques.

BUAV's Director of Special Projects, Sarah Kite told the Malay Mail that "We are, therefore, extremely concerned that these monkeys may have been transported illegally across the border."

BUAV has urged the Malaysian authorities to investigate the matter to ensure that the country's wildlife is protected and that the forests of Malaysia are not being plundered to supply macaques for the international research industry via the back door.

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