According to TRAFFIC, the wildlife trade monitoring network, the number of non-native great apes and gibbons residing in zoos and other wildlife attractions in Thailand is much higher than those recorded as legally imported. For the great apes, this discrepancy is in part due to the fact that international trade in apes is prohibited (due to listings on Appendix I of CITES), but only four of those apes—those native to Thailand—receive protection under Thailand’s Wild Animal Reservation and Protection Act. Consequently, the country has been unable to curb the illegal trade of these non-native species within its borders. The case of great apes in Thailand highlights the importance of creating robust national-level laws, even when there are supposed international statutes in place to regulate international trade. For the full story, see https://news.mongabay.com/2016/12/thailand-failing-to-stop-illegal-trade-in-apes-due-to-inadequate-legislation/.