THAI CUSTOMS STOP 1,400 ENDANGERED ANIMALS ON THEIR WAY TO ILLEGAL PET MARKETS
Thai officials have again disrupted wildlife traffickers by intercepting 1,455 endangered animals believed to be destined for the pet trade.
The seizure, on the morning of 31 January 2007, occurred in Prachuab Khiri Khan province at a Pranburi vehicle check-point where customs officers discovered 1,043 endangered Pig-nosed Turtles, 248 Snake-necked Turtles, 131 Star Tortoises and 33 Arapaima fish being smuggled on a bus to Bangkok. No suspect was found. Officials said all are imported animals and estimated the value of the seizure to be $22,850.
The confiscated wildlife are listed on Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), which means the trade may be authorized by the granting of an export permit or re-export certificate under authorities’ control.
Today’s confiscation follows a number of similar enforcement actions by various Thai agencies over the past year.
CITES Authorities at Don Muang Airport arrested an Indian national smuggling over one thousand Star Tortoises in his suitcase in July 2006.
In September, 2006, a Madagascar national was arrested for smuggling in his suitcase over 200 reptiles, including 15 Radiated Star Tortoises into Thailand’s Don Muang International Airport.
Also early this month saw a seizure of 35 Star Tortoises by the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation. The luggage routed from Madagascar to Kuala Lumpur via Thailand but was not picked up, and was therefore sent back to Thailand’s Suvarnabhumi Airport.
In response to the rising number of wildlife smuggling cases in the region, authorities from ten ASEAN countries have launched the “ASEAN Wildlife Enforcement Network” or ASEAN-WEN to step up their domestic and cross-border efforts to stop illegal wildlife trade.
WildAid congratulates Thailand’s agencies for their stepped up enforcement against wildlife crime and encourages them to follow up with investigations into the major criminals behind the scenes.
Source: WildAid Foundation (Thailand) release dated January 31, 2007
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