Boxing orangutans a throwback as Thais warm to animal rights

Bangkok

BOXING gloves raised, two orang- utans enter a ring in a Thai zoo - a spectacle that fascinates locals and foreigners alike but sits increasingly at odds in a nation slowly embracing animal welfare.

Every morning, hundreds of tourists visit Safari World, a large zoo on the outskirts of Bangkok, to see apes perform a show parodying human behaviour - in particular our predilection for violence, sex and alcohol.