In addition to white sandy beaches and sunshine, Phuket now offers tourists a chance to be part of an animal conservation centre for gibbons. The program started in 1992 and is open for long and short-term volunteers. 

[Sharon Perry, British Volunteer]:
"I really enjoy it. I think the work they do is very good and it is nice to see when the animals come in, it is nice to see the process from when they come in and then to be able to go into the forest and see gibbons that have been released."

The gibbons will be put through a series of environments and be trained to acquire the necessary skills like swinging from branches, to enable them survive in the wild. The greatest threat to the gibbon population is humans.

[Suwit Punnadee, Project Veterinarian]:
"Humans are the main reason the gibbon population is decreasing. They encroach, destroy the gibbon habitat and also hunt baby gibbons for trade."

Usually, the baby gibbons are acquired when their mothers are shot, and then they are illegally sold as pets. The hunter can make around two hundred U.S. dollars for a single baby gibbon. In Thailand, it has been illegal to take gibbons from the wild since 1992. According to the law, the violators risk a fine of up to over a thousand U.S. dollars and the possibility of four years in jail.

From : New Tang Dynasty Television (http://english.ntdtv.com/ntdtv_en/ns_asia/2009-07-28/389845939327.html)