Thais toughen up on wildlife trade

Published 9:00 pm Wednesday, December 10, 2003

BANGKOK, Thailand — Raids at homes and zoos here during the past six weeks have exposed Thailand as a major gateway for a thriving international trade in endangered species, police and wildlife activists said.

More than 33,000 animals, including tigers, bears, orangutans and birds, have been recovered. The animal smuggling industry, police say, is second only to drug trafficking in profitability. A pair of live orangutans can bring up to $25,000.

Spurred by the discovery in October of a house crammed with tiger carcasses and bear paws, along with starving animals, police cracked down on wildlife smugglers, taking them to court, seizing animals and vowing to wipe out the practice.

The animals, prized for their meat, medicinal value and supposed sexual healing powers, are illegally imported from Indonesia, Malaysia and other countries, and sent to China, Korea, Japan and elsewhere, officials say. Sometimes, as in the case of tigers, they are bred or captured in Thailand, then illegally sold to wildlife traders.