Dutchman Edwin Wiek, who runs the centre, said the clinic had already been used for operations on a range of animals, from bears to macaques and a hog deer.

One of the most recent beneficiaries was a macaque brought in by local villagers after it was electrocuted and badly burnt when it touched high-voltage power lines.

"The hospital was a necessity as we receive more and more injured wildlife, such as macaques, deer, large birds and reptiles," Wiek said. "The old facility was just not big enough and lacked the hygiene needed for a professionally run hospital.

"Together with the WSPA we hope to be able to help more wildlife in the near

future and to work towards higher standards of animal welfare within Thailand."

The wildlife centre, set up six years ago, has 24 Thai staff plus about 20 foreign volunteers who come for a few months each to help look after animals at the site, adjacent to Wat Khao Luk Chang. 

There are five elephants, a tiger and 20 bears, plus about 200 monkeys at the facility, funded largely by donations from overseas.

By Jim Pollard,

jimpollard_1999@yahoo.com

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