A red panda found in checked luggage at the Suvarnabhumi Airport in Thailand.Photo:Thailand Customs Deptartment/Facebook
Thailand Customs Deptartment/Facebook
Six people were reportedly arrested in Thailand on Monday after attempting to smuggle 87 animals, including an endangered red panda and two critically endangered cotton-top tamarin monkeys, out of the country.
Per the statement, five males and one female were arrested at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport on Monday for “trying to smuggle animals” internationally. The party was reportedly heading to Mumbai, India.
A red panda found in checked luggage at the Suvarnabhumi Airport in Thailand.Thailand Customs Deptartment/Facebook
TheInternational Union for Conservation of Naturelists several of the animals, including the red panda, found in the checked luggage as endangered.
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The smuggling suspects are accused of attempting to export live animals without declaring them, which is a violation of animal disease control laws, per the statement Thailand’s Customs Department shared on Facebook.
The 87 animals recovered at the airport included a red panda, two critically endangered cotton-top tamarin monkeys, 29 chameleons, 21 snakes, 15 birds, seven lizards, four skinks, two red-eyed squirrels, two bats, a fish tiger, a frog, a rat, and a Sulawesi bear cuscus, the statement said. PerThe Guardian’sreport on the arrests, the Sulawesi bear cuscus is listed as a vulnerable species.
A Sulawesi bear cuscus found in checked luggage at an airport in Bangkok, Thailand.Thailand Customs Deptartment/Facebook
The animals were discovered inside the checked luggage stored in wicker baskets, fabric bags, or plastic tubes, according toCNNand photos taken at the scene.
CNN obtained a statement on the arrests from Kanitha Krishnasamy, the director of TRAFFIC’s Southeast Asia office.TRAFFIC is a non-government organizationthat campaigns against the “illegal and unsustainable trade in wild species.”
A bird discovered inside checked luggage at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport.Thailand Customs Deptartment/Facebook
“We need to get to the bottom of the market in India,” she said. “A robust understanding of the contemporary pet market is needed to guide future interventions, including on strengthened regulation and reducing demand.”
source: people.com
