Aerial view of coconut plantations. The whole region surrounding the capital of Surat Thani has dense spontaneous plantations of coconut trees. Most of them are made of hundred-year-old trees that exceed 30 metres in height. These plantations are wild in nature and scattered in patches in different regions of southern Thailand. Each coconut picker drives daily from one spot to another keeping his macaques tied to the truck. Bang Bai Mai, Surat Thani province.

Piak Saengsawang, 52, working to collect and count the coconuts that his macaque has selected and thrown from the surrounding trees. He is trying to move carefully because the macaque is tired from work and is becoming nervous. Two months earlier, while working in a plantation, the monkey had attacked and seriously injured his son’s leg. Piak owns two macaques which he bought fully grown and trained for 15,000 bath each from a vendor in the town of Don Sah. Most of the macaques used for coconut harvesting develop behavioral disorders and aggression after experiencing severe trauma, such as the killing of their mother to which they are closely related throughout their lives in nature, and partly due to the conditions in which they are forced to live in captivity. Lamai village, Koh Samui province.

Two young macaques, each tied to a tree by a chain and a rope with a length specially calculated not to allow them to touch, are trying in vain to touch each other. Coconut Harvesting Monkey Training Center in Surat Thani. This facility currently houses 40 macaques. Some of them have been conducted here by farmers to be trained for coconut harvesting. Others are bred and trained to be sold after being kidnapped in the jungle by poachers and stolen from their mother who is usually killed to enable their capture.  Prices of trained macaques vary according to their age and gender. A trained young male of about two years can cost as much as 30,000 baht.  In spite of the large number of animals present in the facility, each of them lives as a recluse without any possibility of socialization with others. The length of the chains prevents the animals from making contact and interacting with each other, condemning them to a life of solitude and deprivation. Khlong Noi village. Surat Thani province.

At the end of the day, several piles of coconut barks are piled up outside a company that processes coconuts bought in bulk from farmers in the province. According to what is reported from the owner, Liang Thongsi, the coconuts are purchased at a price of 20 baths each. In most cases the barks are burned, but this company uses to recycle and turn them into compost, which becomes an additional source of income. Don Yan village. Pathio district, Chumphon province.

Two young macaques, each tied to a tree by a chain and a rope with a length specially calculated not to allow them to touch, are trying in vain to touch each other. Coconut Harvesting Monkey Training Center in Surat Thani. This facility currently houses 40 macaques. Some of them have been conducted here by farmers to be trained for coconut harvesting. Others are bred and trained to be sold after being kidnapped in the jungle by poachers and stolen from their mother who is usually killed to enable their capture.  Prices of trained macaques vary according to their age and gender. A trained young male of about two years can cost as much as 30,000 baht.  In spite of the large number of animals present in the facility, each of them lives as a recluse without any possibility of socialization with others. The length of the chains prevents the animals from making contact and interacting with each other, condemning them to a life of solitude and deprivation. Khlong Noi village. Surat Thani province.

A very young macaque - less than one year old - is chained by the neck and forced to carry out the tasks assigned by the trainers performing typical situations and actions required for coconut harvesting. The school is also open to the public and training is sold as a tourist attraction: in this case the macaque, after being educated to untie knots on a rope, must obey the commands showing the audience that he has learned how to rotate a coconut and pull it out of the trainer's hands. Coconut Harvesting Monkey Training Center, Khlong Noi village. Surat Thani province. Thailand.

Farmer Lek (23) reaches a new spontaneous plantation in the jungle together with his macaque Phanga. To the chain that keeps monkeys tied to the vehicle, pickers use to attach a rope to control the moves of the monkeys when they climb the trees for dozens of meters to pick and throw the coconuts. The rope allows them to send quick commands over long distances. For example, when macaques are tired or refuse to do the job, farmers can pull the rope forcing them to go on. Pratuan area, Koh Samui island, Surat Thani province, Thailand.

The legs of Ten Saengsawang, a 15-year-old farmer, bearing two large wounds caused by the bite of one of the family's macaques. Lamai town, Surat Thani province.

Pak Nam village, Chumphon province. Thailand.

Toon Sittichai, shows the counter with which he constantly keeps count of the coconuts thrown by one of his monkeys during picking activities. Every day Toon and his two sons go to the wild coconut plantations scattered for miles in the area surrounding their village, bringing the 7 macaques they own to work. Soi Pla Nam 8, Kui Buri district, Prachuap Khiri Khan province.

A young macaque plays with an empty plate in front of its owner's house. It is one of the stereotypical movements these animals develop as a response to the stress caused by being held and deprived of the opportunity to satisfy their ethological needs. Pak Nam village, Chumphon province.

Farmer Lek (23) at work in a spontaneous coconut plantation. He holds the rope to which is tied Panghà, one of his macaques who is working in a tree in search of ripe coconuts to be detached and thrown to the ground. Lek is in charge of guiding Panghà's work, pulling the rope in different ways. Pratuan area, Koh Samui island, Surat Thani province.

A 6-year-old male macaque at work tied up with a 30-meters by his owner Piak, 52. Piak owns two macaques, one 4 and another 6 years old that he bought at the price of 30,000 bath each, already trained at the Don Sah training center school. Koh Samui island, Surat Thani province.

Two macaques tied to a truck with a chain, after having collected the coconuts are about to be transported to a new plantation. The work begins at dawn and ends just before sunset. By the end of the day they will have completely filled the pick-up and collected about 2000 coconuts each. Koh Samui island, Surat Thani province.

Sunan Duangmonta 64, mows grass while his son follows him carrying a young macaque. Many macaques up to the age of 4 are very affectionate and can have pet-like behaviors. As soon as they become adults, it is impossible to domesticate them. They become aggressive with humans, and their aggression is exacerbated by living chained up all the time. It is a very common practice among farmers to emasculate adult macaques' canine teeth to avoid being bitten. Ban Mak village, Chumphon province.

Farmers, employees of the Baan Loong Nun Monkey school, control, through long ropes, the macaques' work in the trees. Meanwhile, one macaque, also tired from the incessant rain, stopped working and was momentarily tied to a tree. Ban Mak area, Chumphon province.

Ten Saengsawang, a 15-year-old farmer, collects coconuts while he is holding tight to the rope to which his macaque is tied, who is meanwhile in the tree selecting and throwing the coconuts. The humans are tasked with putting the coconuts together on the ground, counting them one by one and loading them onto trucks. At the end of the day, about 2,000 coconuts collected by 2 macaques in 10 hours were loaded onto a truck belonging to Ten's father. Lamai town, Surat Thani province.

A stakeout hut for macaque poachers in the forest. Ad, 51 , has caught about 50 monkeys in the past decade through a trap system he built. According to him and many local residents, on the mountain just behind Ad's house live two pig-tailed macaque communities of about 40 individuals each. Camouflaged in the forest vegetation, Ad has placed a net about 5 metres by 5 metres connected to a system of ropes and boulders placed on the trees. When a macaque - lured by a banana helmet that acts as bait - steps on the net, it lifts and the macaque get trapped. Ad states that the lurking in the hut can last for days: the goal is to catch juvenile macaques, while adults that end up in the trap are killed through gunfire. Ao Mamuang village., Sawi district, Chumphon province.

Ad, 51 ,in front of the monkey trap he built. He has caught about 50 monkeys in the past decade through his own made trap system. He caught two very young ones a week before when I took this picture of him. One he sold for 15,000 bath and the other, still unsold he keeps tied to a large stone behind his home. According to him and many local residents, on the mountain just behind Ad's house live two pig-tailed macaque communities of about 40 individuals each. Camouflaged in the forest vegetation, Ad has placed a net about 5 metres by 5 metres connected to a system of ropes and boulders placed on the trees. When a macaque - lured by a banana helmet that acts as bait - steps on the net, it lifts and the macaque get trapped. Ad states that the lurking in the hut can last for days: the goal is to catch juvenile macaques, while adults that end up in the trap are killed through gunfire. Ao Mamuang village., Sawi district, Chumphon province.

Lawan Khongthong, 41, holds onto the rope one of his macaques who refuses to work and tries to jump onto the truck from which he has just been taken down. After a full morning of work, the truck is almost full of coconuts and Lawan decides to stop at some trees along the road to let his macaques collect more coconuts. A full truck contains around 1000 coconuts which means a very busy day for the macaque who collected them: episodes of rebellion in which the animals refuse to continue working are frequent. According to what several farmers have witnessed, macaques who refuse to work for a week at a time are systematically killed or abandoned in the jungle, where they are no longer able to survive. Ao Mamuang village., Sawi district, Chumphon province.

An 8-year-old macaque detained at Koh Samui's Monkey Show Centre during the coconut harvesting training period. This monkey lives almost the entirety of his day inside a small shelter made of metal sheets, where sunlight barely filters through. His freedom of movement is limited by a short rope that keeps him attached to a concrete floor where he constantly spins around and back and forth tending to tear off the metal collar that has been placed around his neck, which he is forced to wear for the rest of his life. Koh Samui island. Surat Thani province.

An adult male macaque who has just returned from his day's work has been momentarily tied up, inside a Monkey school, under a structure sheltered from the rain. Behind him, other adult macaques already trained and ready for sale are being held in cages. The facility, owned and operated by the Duangmonta family, has 25 macaques. There are 6 adults used by them for the work of collecting coconuts, 4 recently bought puppies that they will train, and the other 10 trained ready to be sold. The number of macaques they own can vary depending on sales and reach about 40. Baan Loong Nun Monkey school , Bang Mak village, Chumphon province.

The Buathong family at work in the pantry adjacent to their home. Every afternoon, the coconuts selected and collected by their 7 macaques , are counted and skinned one by one. It is an operation that takes about two hours a day. The coconuts are then sold to brokers for 20 baths each. Ban Mak village, Chumphon province.

A cage where a trained adult macaque is kept, hidden under a towel at the home of Chang, 31. The macaque spends the whole day there, deprived of daylight and allowed out only to harvest coconut. According to Chang's story, two years ago - following the attention brought by investigations conducted by Peta - the police searched several homes in the village and seized all the macaques that were being illegally detained. This is why he is now keeping this newly purchased macaque hidden, as he does not yet have permission from the authorities. Bang Mak village, Chumphon province.

A basket built for the entertainment shows held by the macaques at the Monkey centre in Lipanoi. This place is a training school where coconut pickers bring their monkeys to learn how to collect coconuts. The duration of the training can be different for each macaque depending primarily on the age or consequences of the trauma suffered .It can take 2 to 6 months. This is also a place open to visitors who are entertained with shows performed by macaques also trained to do push-ups, ride bicycles and throw a ball into a basket. Lipanoi Village. Ko Samui island, Surat Thani province.

Hong Thongkham, owner of the Coconut Harvesting Monkey Training Centre in Khlong village, sitting in the space where buyers and/or visitors are welcomed. According to Hong's accounts, the centre hosts an average of 40 macaques considering those that come to be trained and those that go because they are sold to work. Khlong Noi village. Surat Thani province.

An adult macaque (5 years old) during a performance where he is forced to ride a small bicycle in front of visitors. His owner and trainer decided to remove his canine teeth because he is considered aggressive and dangerous for him and the visitors. Koh Samui's Monkey Show Centre. Lipanoi village, Koh Samui island, Surat Thani province.

Kra Dae Jae Monkey Training School. A baby macaque brought to the scene a few days ago is trying to fall asleep. He was taken from his natural habitat, he lost his mom. Like all other macaques on site, he will be forced to be trained to harvest coconuts. When he is deemed ready, he will be up for sale. According to what the owner of the school declares, the price of a trained macaque is between 8,000 and 30,000 bath depending on its potential skills, strength and resistance. Takhian Tong, Kanchanadit district, Surat Thani province.

Kra Dae Jae Monkey Training School. A young macaque at night goes up and down the tree to which he is tied with a rope. His movements are very limited by the short length of the rope and he has no possibility to explore the space that surrounds him, socialize with other monkeys. Due to captivity, these animals develop strong stress levels and stereotypes. Takhian Tong, Kanchanadit district, Surat Thani province.