Chonburi, eastern Thailand – As night falls, a team of wildlife officers and veterinarians springs into action.

In a carefully rehearsed routine, they enter the lemur enclosure, nets in hand.

One by one, the lemurs – whose big eyes, fox-like faces and long, bushy tails set them apart from their primate relatives – are captured, given quick health checks, and secured in travel crates.

Nearby, tortoises are also being readied for transport in long, narrow cases lined with grass and straw. Each tortoise is labelled before being placed inside.

Later, at Suvarnabhumi Airport in the Thai capital, Bangkok, the officers – many of whom have cared for the animals since their rescue seven months ago – refill water dispensers and peer through the crates’ ventilation holes, checking on the animals one last time before departure.

Bright amber lemur eyes stare back, wide with confusion.

This routine is repeated three times over two weeks, preparing a total of 16 ring-tailed lemurs, 31 brown lemurs, 155 radiated tortoises, and 758 spider tortoises  – all ranging from vulnerable to critically endangered on the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) Red List – for their long-haul flight back home to Madagascar.

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It marks the culmination of the largest-ever wildlife repatriation for both Thailand and Madagascar.

Staff from Thailand’s Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation (DNP) carry lemurs to a temporary veterinary station in preparation for their journey to Madagascar on December 2, 2024 [Ana Norma Bermudez/Al Jazeera]

Historic wildlife trafficking bust

In fact, these animals began their journey months ago.

In May, Thai authorities seized a cargo of 1,109 endangered lemurs and tortoises originating from Madagascar in one of the country’s largest wildlife trafficking busts to date.

The raid was the result of an ongoing international investigation aimed at dismantling transnational criminal networks, involving the Royal Thai Police, United States Fish and Wildlife Service, the Wildlife Justice Commission, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and Interpol.

Acting on a tip-off, Thai authorities tracked the convoluted route of an illegal wildlife shipment as it moved from Madagascar through Indonesia and Malaysia before entering Thailand.

Thai police moved in as the smugglers passed through Chumphon province, successfully intercepting the shipment.

Had they not been rescued, the animals would almost certainly have been sold into the multibillion-dollar global exotic pet market.

“There are criminal networks capable of supplying any type of exotic pet, from reptiles and primates to birds and tortoises, to a black market with global demand,” said Giovanni Broussard, Africa coordinator of the environment team at UNODC.

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“There are buyers in every corner of the planet, and the modus operandi of the traffickers change continuously,” he said.

Wildlife officers and veterinarians scan each lemur’s microchip and conduct quick health checks before moving them to their travel crates [Ana Norman Bermudez/Al Jazeera]

Thailand has long been a hub for the wildlife trade – both legal and illegal. While the illegal trade in wildlife violates national or international laws, such as the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), the legal trade operates within the framework of law.

A report in 2023 identified Thailand as Southeast Asia’s top importer of legally traded wildlife from Madagascar. Between 2001 and 2021, Thailand also recorded the highest number of illegal wildlife seizures from Madagascar, second only to Madagascar itself. The report warned that the extent of the illegal trade is likely to be greater than official seizure records suggest.

“The seizures we make represent only a portion of trafficking activities,” said Apinya Chaitae, director of CITES implementation at Thailand’s Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation.

It’s difficult to estimate the true scale of the problem, she says, but “as long as demand exists, smuggling will continue”.

Madagascar’s unique biodiversity – 90 percent of its species are found nowhere else on Earth – makes it a prime target for poachers and traffickers.

Madagascar’s Environment Minister Max Andonirina Fontaine said the international wildlife trade is a huge threat to the country.

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“After habitat loss, it is the second leading cause of biodiversity decline,” he said.

Repatriating almost 1,000 wild animals – a rare feat

In June, the government of Madagascar expressed its intention to repatriate the animals rescued in Thailand.

Repatriations of trafficked wildlife, particularly at this scale, are rare due to their immense financial and logistical implications. Thailand supported the decision but was unable to provide funding.

Fortunately, in August, Qatar Airways and the Southern African airline Airlink offered to sponsor the flights, which would transport the animals from Bangkok to Madagascar’s Antananarivo via Johannesburg.

The process has not been without challenges.

Upon examining the animals after the seizure, Thai authorities found 131 tortoises dead, with the remaining animals in poor health. Over the following weeks, a lemur and 17 more tortoises died.

Staff from the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Conservation place radiated tortoises – classified as critically endangered by the IUCN – inside their travel crates [Ana Norman Bermudez/Al Jazeera]

For seven months, the surviving animals were cared for at a wildlife breeding centre in Chonburi, run by Thailand’s Department of National Parks.

The complex administrative requirements for transporting wild animals internationally caused the flights to be delayed twice. Despite these setbacks, all flights were completed successfully on November 30, December 3 and December 12.

“For us, it was a natural decision … because these animals are so fragile, you cannot leave them in an environment that is not their own,” Environment Minister Fontaine said.

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“In Madagascar, lemurs are important – not just because of their ecological value but also for their tourism and cultural value,” he said.

‘Long-term fight’

Once all of the repatriated animals complete quarantine, they are scheduled to be transferred to five specialised centres in nature reserves across Madagascar.

Fontaine, the environment minister, said the goal is to release the animals into their natural environment.

“The repatriation is only a step in the process – it’s not the end at all,” he said, noting that an investigation into the source of the wildlife haul is continuing.

“This is a long-term fight, and we will ensure that Madagascar is an ally in this fight,” he added.

Thai officers check on the lemurs at Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok before their departure to Madagascar, as part of one of the largest wildlife repatriations either country has ever undertaken [Ana Norman Bermudez/Al Jazeera]

Endangered species such as lemurs and radiated tortoises are prized for their rarity, pushing up their value in the black market.

With large profits hanging in the balance, criminal networks navigate complex trafficking routes, regularly changing their tactics to avoid detection and exploit weaknesses in law enforcement.

The success of this operation, both at the investigation and repatriation stages, highlights the need for multilateral, international cooperation in tackling wildlife crime, UNODC’s Broussard said.

“This partnership between the public and private sector, with the involvement of international organisations like UNODC, that ensure neutrality and independence, is the way to go in the fight against wildlife crime, and we need to see more and more of these initiatives,” he said.

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“Without the help of the many parties involved, these lemurs and tortoises would now be dead or in the hands of unscrupulous wildlife collectors.”