Forest rangers in the central province of Phu Yen plan to release 96 smuggled monkeys on Friday morning to a local restricted forest following strong public disapproval of their selling the animals.

Tuy Hoa traffic police last Saturday found the young monkeys when they stopped an unregistered Toyota Innova for speeding. The driver ran away while police were examining the car.

On Monday, the Tuy Hoa forest rangers’ office sold them to Tuan, who owns a wildlife farm in Dong Hoa District.

Vo Ngoc An, head of the agency, than argued that laws allow them to choose between selling certain animals confiscated to wildlife farms or returning them to forests. They had asked Tuan to commit to raising the monkeys for a long time and not selling them, he said.

Source: VNA