Phuket baby elephant DNA test results to be announced

PHUKET: The long-awaited DNA test results of three baby elephants seized from elephant camps in Phuket will be revealed next week, the Phuket Gazette was told today.

The three elephants were seized in February from the ATV @ Hill Adventure Tour camp on the road to the Big Buddha image in Chalong; the Elephant Camp at the Laguna complex in Cherng Talay; and the PhuThai Souvenir Market in Chalong.

The DNA tests were ordered to determine the baby elephants’ mothers and, therefore, whether or not the infant pachyderms had been obtained legally.

All relevant parties were invited to join a meeting at the Office of the Ombudsman in Bangkok this morning, Watcharin Phusit, the superintendent of the regional Natural Resources and Environment Crime Suppression Division, told the Gazette today.

“We were informed by the general inspector that the results of the DNA tests will be revealed next week,” he said.

Currently, the three baby elephants are at the Thai Elephant Conservation Center (TECC), a state-run enterprise in Lampang.

Col Watcharin previously told the Gazette that, “Anyone found guilty in the case will get up to four years in jail, a 40,000 baht fine, or both, in accordance with the Wildlife Preservation and Protection Act.”

— Orawin Narabal