illegal wildlife trade
- Thailand News
Thailand to repatriate 900 seized lemurs and turtles to Madagascar
Thailand is set to return over 900 lemurs and rare turtles to Madagascar, following a significant seizure from the illegal wildlife trade, as stated by the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation (DNP). The DNP announced that 963 animals, including ring-tailed lemurs, brown lemurs, spider tortoises, and radiated tortoises, are currently under the care of officials. These animals…
- Crime News
Thai police ‘tweet’ out arrests in illegal bird trade bust
Thai police have swooped on a major illegal bird trade operation in southern Thailand, arresting two people involved in selling protected Bulbul birds via Facebook. The suspects admitted to selling thousands of birds over the past year. Police officers from the Natural Resources and Environmental Crime Suppression Division conducted raids on the homes of two individuals, known by their Facebook…
- Thailand News
Thai couple arrested for illegal wildlife trade in Surin province
Police arrested a Thai couple involved in the illegal wildlife trade, confiscating two tiger cubs, two pairs of Thai elephant tusks, and 26 pieces of African elephant tusks worth millions of baht. Efforts are underway to rescue an additional four tiger cubs. The operation, led by Director of the National Parks Office Chaiwat Limlikhitaksorn and officers from Dom Police Station…
- Thailand News
Woman arrested for illegal online wildlife trade in southern Thailand
Police apprehended a Thai woman involved in illegal online wildlife trading, seizing 34 rare birds. The suspect admitted to buying the birds from locals and reselling them online for profit. Arune Wachirasrisukanya, Deputy Commander of the Natural Resources and Environmental Crime Division (NED), along with Wanpichit Watthanasakmonta, Chief of Police Station 6, and Somphop Trongtokit, Inspector of Police Station 6,…
- Thailand News
Man nabbed for illegal otter trade in wildlife bust in Chachoengsao
Authorities in Chachoengsao province apprehended a 26 year old suspect for harbouring protected wildlife, including otters, in his possession. During the raid in Plaeng Yao district, law enforcement officers seized not only the carcasses of three soft-shelled turtles but also those of two pangolins from the suspect’s residence. The identity of the individual, however, remains undisclosed. The suspect is set…
- Thailand News
Man arrested in Songkhla for illegal online sale of protected birds
The Thai authorities arrested a 40 year old man for illegally selling protected wild birds online, claiming he needed the money for his child’s medical expenses. The man, identified as Tatsana Pohtong, was apprehended at his home in Songkhla province with 29 caged birds in his possession. The arrest followed an investigation into his Facebook posts advertising the sale of…
- Thailand News
Steve Galster roars: Let’s trade wildlife for a pandemic-free world
Steve Galster, the founder and CEO of the anti-trafficking organisation Freeland, has advocated for the complete eradication of illegal and legal wildlife trade to avert the possibility of the next pandemic. He highlighted that Thailand, with its superior infrastructure, has been a longstanding hub for such activities, facilitating the movement of wildlife trade from source countries like Africa and Indonesia…
- World News
Lizard lingerie: Chinese customs uncover 16 live sailfin lizards hidden in woman’s underwear
Chinese customs officials made a shocking exotic pet trade discovery when they seized 16 live sailfin lizards concealed within a woman’s undergarments. The woman, attempting to smuggle these rare reptiles into Hong Kong, was apprehended at Futian Port, located in Shenzhen, eastern China. Noticing the woman’s unusually bulky attire, officials conducted a search which revealed five mesh bags containing the…
- Environment News
Thailand’s rescued tiger cubs fattening up, but not for the pot
Thailand’s rescued tiger cubs are fattening up nicely in Udon Ratchathani, but these guys have already been saved from the pot. Laos’ wildlife authorities are finally assisting Thailand’s search for 30 tiger cubs trafficked across the border to be fattened up and fed to sexually-challenged Chinese customers in underground Bangkok eateries. Chaiwat Limlikitaksorn, director of the Ubon Ratchathani’s National Parks,…
- World News
Smuggled wildlife goods pouring out of India
The porous borders between Bangladesh, China, India, Myanmar, Nepal, and Thailand, plus a growing private aviation market make fighting wildlife smuggling close to impossible, according to ThePrint. The emergence of cryptocurrencies has also led to an increase in all kinds of illegal trade. Some of the most smuggled wildlife goods out of India passing through Thailand are red sanders, ambergris,…
- World News
Cambodian wildlife official charged with smuggling temple monkeys
A Cambodian wildlife official has been charged in the United States with smuggling endangered monkeys. Eight people have now been charged with smuggling the endangered monkeys. The Guardian reports that the Cambodian official was arrested on his way to a conference on protecting endangered species. The group arrested are connected to a Hong Kong-based company involved in breeding long-tailed macaques…
- Thailand News
More than 100 monkeys tied in bags, trapped in cages rescued from home
More than 100 baby macaque monkeys were found at an abandoned home in Saraburi, some tied up in bags. One was dead. Some locked in plastic carriers were weak from hunger and thirst. Police suspect the home was being for storage by a wildlife smuggling gang preparing to transport and sell the monkeys across the border where the animals would…
- World News
Golden Triangle Special Economic Zone building airport, crime feared
Construction has resumed on a private airport in Laos on the Thai border as part of the Golden Triangle Special Economic Zone, a casino resort complex considered to be rife with illegal activity. The owner of the development, Zhao Wei, is the chairman of the Dok Ngiew Kham Group and has been named in connection with human trafficking, drugs, money…
- Thailand News
Police seize clouded leopard rug after it was posted for sale on Facebook
Police seized a rug made from wildcat fur last week after it was posted for sale on Facebook for 7,500 baht. The rug appears to be from a clouded leopard and investigators now suspect it may have come from one of the two clouded leopards recorded on hidden camera in a rare sighting last December at the Erawan National Park in…
- Crime News
Thai officials target alleged wildlife trade kingpin, seize 330 million baht worth of assets
In what some consider a major breakthrough in the ongoing crackdown on the illegal endangered species trade, Thai authorities targeted a suspected wildlife trafficking kingpin, freezing his bank accounts and seizing millions worth of assets. Thai officials say last Friday’s operation was aimed at the alleged kingpin of the illegal wildlife trade in Asia, Boonchai Bach, who is Vietnamese with…
- Environment News
Thai tiger park faces permanent closure amid wildlife smuggling allegations
The threat of permanent closure hangs over a tiger park in the north-eastern province of Mukdahan, due to the alleged illegal smuggling of tiger cubs. The Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation has brought charges against Mukda Tiger Park & Farm, also known as Mukda Suan Sua, and ordered the facility to close for 30 days. The DNP…
- Thailand News
Thailand sends smuggled orangutans back to Indonesia
After being smuggled through Southeast Asia, seized by Thai border officials, and then cared for at a Thailand wildlife centre for 3 years, a pair of endangered Sumatran orangutans are being sent back to Indonesia. Back in June 2017, border officials seized the orangutans, Ung Ing and Nathalie, from smugglers at a customs checkpoint in the southern province Songkhla, near…
- Northern Thailand News
Tigers and tiger body parts seized from Thai zoo investigated for alleged wildlife smuggling
In a crackdown on suspected wildlife trafficking, the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation seized 5 tigers from a private zoo in the Isaan province Mukdahan. DNA tests confirmed that at least 3 of the 5 tiger cubs are not related to the tigers in the Mudka Tiger Park & Farm, leading officials to believe the wildcats were…
- Crime News
Man arrested for alleged involvement in tiger carcass sale
A 70 year old man was arrested for alleged involvement in the illegal wildlife trade. Yusup Sae Ma has been wanted since 2015 for his alleged role in the sale of a tiger carcass. Back in 2015, police at a checkpoint in Tak’s Mae Sot district found a female tiger carcass in a foam box in the trunk of a car…
- South Thailand News
Zoos to be investigated for possible involvement in black market animal trade
Zoos across Thailand will be investigated for possible involvement in the black market wildlife trade. The probe follows a case where 2 rare albino barking deer went missing at Songkhla Zoo and a top zoo official investigating the disappearance was shot and killed at the zoo in an apparent murder-suicide. After suspicion that the deer were stolen and sold in…
