A monkey was caught on CCTV stealing food from a grocery shop.

Footage shows the macaque entering the establishment and making a beeline for the shelves in Chachoengsao, Thailand, on September 29.

The animal quickly took one packaged bread and fled as the storekeeper scared it away.

Monkeys in Thailand have been known to steal food and belongings from tourists. Many provincial governments in Thailand have been lobbying for the removal of crab-eating macaques from the country's list of protected wildlife. The legal protections have been hampering efforts to curb the pillaging simians' ballooning numbers.

Meanwhile, the Thai government is taking steps to manage the monkey population in the country, including creating sanctuaries, mass sterilisation programs, educating the public on how to handle the animals properly, and relocating them to more suitable habitats.