Indonesian authorities foiled an attempt to smuggle around 3,500 pig-nosed turtles and 700 Indo-Chinese rat snakes bound for Hong Kong. The export documents were labbeled snake fruits to pass borders unattended. The trafficked soft-shelled turtle is endemic to the Northern Territory of Australia and southern part of New Guinea. If found guilty, the suspects could face up to five years and be fined around US$10,000.

Please read the full article here.


 

Thailand's largest ivory seizure from Wednesday night is valued at 120 million baht with African ivory being hidden in pallet labbeled mobile phone parts. the exact origin of the African is yet unknown.

Please read the article of Michael Casey (AP Environmental WRiter) on the Washington Post here.

(Bangkok, 18 February 2010) On 17 February 2010, the Airport Authorities (AOT), Immigration Police and the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation of Thailand arrested a Thai national carrying 58 live radiated tortoises (geochelone radiate) and 18 Chinese or Asian water dragons (physignathus cocincinos) including a deceased one in a suitcase at Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok.  Airport Authorities observed live animals inside the suitcase and stopped the suspect for further luggage inspection detecting several dozen of endangered radiated tortoises and other surprising guests. These tortoises are endemic to Madagascar, were transited in Myanmar and intended to board a Thai Airways flight (TG) en route to Manila, Philippines.

Dr. Chumphon Sukkaseam (center, talking), Mr. Tim Redford (left, FREELAND) and Mr. Sulma Warne (right, TRAFFIC) provided input on illegal wildlife trade in Southeast Asia during the FAO Workshop in Bangkok.

The ASEAN-Wildlife Enforcement Network (ASEAN-WEN) was invited to attend the workshop on Animal-Human-Environment Interface jointly organized by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the Department of Livestock Development of Thailand, the US Center for Disease Control (CDC), and the APHCA (Animal Production and Health Commission for Asia and the Pacific) on 8-10 February, 2010 at the Siam City Hotel in Bangkok. Over 40 participants from 9 countries including Thailand, Myanmar, Indonesia, Cambodia, The Philippines, Malaysia, Kenya, Mongolia and PR China participated and exchanged knowledge about the linkages between livestock, humans, and wildlife in the transmission of zoonotic diseases (any infectious disease that can be transmitted from non-human animals, both wild and domestic, to humans).