Zoos to be checked after tiger skins and carcasses found

[PeteC]

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/nationa ... 75297.html

A blanket inspection of tigers in zoos and other captive animals has been ordered in the wake of a fresh seizure of tiger skins and carcasses and other protected wildlife from a major smuggler at a Bangkok home.

An official from the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation (DNP) said the skinned tigers could have been obtained from one of the zoos. So, the inspection, when done, would reveal a head-count and other details of animals at all premises and likely evidence of any that had gone missing.

Deputy director-general Theeraphat Prayoonsitthi said DNA checks of tigers was not viable as an inspection measure, as only a few had been collected to date under a DNP project at Huay Kha Khaeng wildlife reserve in Kanchanaburi.

Tiger skins and carcasses along with meat from elephants, zebras and lions were found at the house. Seven suspects implicated a man known as Od Bang Kruay as the trader and smuggler behind the slaughter. They allege that he took orders from foreign buyers - to provide them with the meat and skins.

There are around one million protected or wild creatures in zoos and private enclosures in Thailand, but 80 per cent of them are birds and avian species. Around 300 zoos have permission to keep tigers and other felines.

[Takiap]

Very sad Pete, and unfortunately the sentences for these types of crimes are often very light and certainly not harsh enough to put others off from doing the same.

I know the South African authorities made a big bust involving a group of Thai smugglers who were operating with the help of a South African hunting tour operator. The last I read was that the South African and the Thai in charge were looking at about 20 years inside, while the rest are looking at sentences ranging from 5 to 15 years. While these types of sentences seem more just, they're not actually the type of sentences handed out for poaching alone. Luckily the people who do care about wildlife have found ways to get more severe sentences handed down. In this particular case involving the Thais, they're also getting done for things like fraud, tax evasion, and so on.


I also think China could do more to prevent things like this from happening. I'd bet my life on it that the tiger skins and etc were are destined for China. If the Chinese, after all these centuries, still have realized that Rhino horn, tiger meat and bone, and so on, doesn't help one to get a bigger dongle, they'll never puzzle it out.

[margaretcarnes]

I can't understand why they don't seem to know how many animals they have in the zoos? Why aren't larger animals like tigers tagged? Only now they order a head count... too little too late as always. Or was it a case of 'oh - I forget'

While I realise that Thailand has a good record on snake venom, and caring for injured elephants, I'm no fan of zoos at all. Their only value IMO is for essential conservation and research. If Thailands' zoos can't even appear to keep track of their occupants the question has to be asked - are they just a business? I think we can all guess the answer to that.

[LolaBeltran]

Apart from the deplorable aspects of this kind of ignorant trade and the ruination of our planet in general . . .that has got to be some of the worst taxidermy I have ever seen. The "tiger" next to the blue cooler looks like it was stuffed like a mattress. Who would buy it?

[Homer]

If the Chinese, after all these centuries, still have realized that Rhino horn, tiger meat and bone, and so on, doesn't help one to get a bigger dongle, they'll never puzzle it out.

Wouldn't surprise me if the consumers knew it didn't work but used their purchases of rhino horn and the like to show off their wealth.

[pharvey]

Wouldn't surprise me if the consumers knew it didn't work but used their purchases of rhino horn and the like to show off their wealth.

I think that's more to the point......

Obviously it's not just the zoos that need checking in LOS...

Thai police bust Bangkok rare wildlife 'butchers'

BANGKOK, February 6, 2012 (AFP) - Thai police busted a grisly exotic wildlife slaughterhouse in Bangkok when officers caught four men in the act of chopping up a tiger in a residential home, officials said Monday.

Elephant, zebra, wildebeest and lion remains were also found at the suburban property as well as meat kept in a refrigerator that police and wildlife activists said was likely to be destined for human consumption.

"We assume that the meat is from tigers because we found tiger skin and heads. From what I've seen, I think it's two tigers," Thai Nature Crime Police Commander, Police Colonel Norasak Hemnithi, told AFP.

He said police arrested seven men and are hunting another, believed to be the owner of an exotic animal restaurant in Bangkok, which has operated in the capital for a decade.

"We believe that this butchers house is mainly to provide orders for the restaurant, but those arrested said they sometimes shipped meat and stuffed animals to China," he added.

Wildlife anti-trafficking group Freeland, which often works with the Thai police on operations, said local police chanced on the gruesome scene after encountering a man whose hands were covered in blood in Bangkok's Yannawa district.

"Police escorted the man back to a residential building and discovered four others in the midst of chopping up a 400 kilogramme (880 pound) male tiger," the group said.

Freeland director Steven Galster said the group believes some of the animals were "bred in, or laundered through, private zoos in Thailand".

Norasak said he thought the tigers might have been from the wild, but other animals could have been from private zoos.

The arrested men could face four years in jail for the illegal processing of wild and protected animals, he added.

Thailand, a hub of international smuggling, is one of just 13 countries hosting fragile tiger populations. Worldwide, numbers are estimated to have fallen to only 3,200 tigers from approximately 100,000 a century ago.

[Takiap]

The men involved could face four years in prison?


And, that's exactly where the problem lies.............the profits are worth the risks. Rather than four years, they should get at least 15 years, during which time they can be used as free labor in the various zoos.

[Dannie Boy]

The men involved could face four years in prison?


And, that's exactly where the problem lies.............the profits are worth the risks. Rather than four years, they should get at least 15 years, during which time they can be used as free labor in the various zoos.

Or better still, free food for the zoo's!!