Authorities intercept man trying to leave a day after dozens of dead tiger cubs found in Wat Pha Luang Ta Bua temple freezer
Thai wildlife officers load a tiger on to a truck outside the temple in Kanchanaburi province. Photograph: Dario Pignatelli/Getty
Wildlife authorities in Thailand have found adult tiger skins and fangs during a raid on the “tiger temple” tourist attraction and intercepted a monk who was trying to leave in a car that was carrying skins. Separately, officials said they would press charges against the Buddhist temple after 40 tiger cubs were found in a freezer on Wednesday.
“Today we found tigers skins and amulets in a car which was trying to leave a temple,” said Adisorn Noochdumrong, the deputy director of the DNP. He said a search of several monks’ quarters yielded further body parts, bringing Thursday’s haul to two full-body tiger skins, about 10 fangs and dozens of pieces of tiger fur.
Volunteers, staff and monks at Wat Pha Luang Ta Bua temple complex have long denied trafficking allegations. But international animal rights groups including WWF and People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals applauded the raid. Police Col Bandith Meungsukhum told AFP the dead cubs would have been one or two days old. He said their DNA would be tested to see if they were related to tigers at the temple.
The temple claims it decided in 2010 to stop cremating the cubs and preserve them to “keep as proof against the allegations of selling cubs”.
Thailand is a central route for the illegal wildlife trade through south-east Asia, including for ivory, rhino horn and live animals. Tiger parts, including bones and penises, are used in traditional Chinese medicine.
The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species banned the trade in tiger parts and products in 2007. The raid is the culmination of a battle that has been going on for years between the government and the temple. Thailand has an estimated 1,200-1,300 captive tigers.
The Pennsylvania Game Commission has reportedly charged Hung Quoc Pham, Van Thi Do, Bruce Dinh Le, and Tuyet “Amy” Le with illegally buying bear gallbladders and paws.
As Asian bear populations dwindle, wildlife traffickers are increasingly turning to North American bears for a supply of gallbladders, paws, and other parts. Photo: Steve Hillebrand/USFWS
During the course of an investigation spanning from November 2011 to July 2012, the suspectspurchasedbear gallbladders, bear paws, bear meat, and a porcupine from an undercover agent, according toPennLive.com.
Meetings and transactions took place at Nail Care in Marysville with Hung Quoc Pham and Van Thi Do (“Bill” and “Wendy”), and also at the Nail Touch Salon in Lemoyne with Bruce Dinh Le and Tuyet “Amy” Le.
The investigation was initiated by a tip alerting the Game Commission to suspicious wildlife-related activities at Nail Care.
Most bear populations in Asia have already been decimated by the use of bear bile in traditional Chinese medicine and the consumption of bear paws. Wildlife traffickers are increasingly turning to North American bears for a supply of gallbladders, paws and other parts.
It is important to note that there is absolutely no reason to use “ingredients” sourced from bears. The active ingredientin bear bile, ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA), is available as a synthetic and there are at least 50 herbal alternatives to bear bile.
“We confiscated whole preserved bodies of 14 tigers, a lion, three leopards, a clouded leopard, three bears and a tapir and a tiger head,” he said, adding that investigations were ongoing.
“We believe he is connected to a network of rare animal traders. But we have not established yet if the animals are for the domestic or international market,” he said.
The suspect could face up to five years’ jail and fines of 100 million rupiah ($11,000) for violating natural resources conservation laws.
“Best news I’ve heard all day…its the only way to stop these animals becoming extinct. If the poachers know they are at risk of being shot, hopefully it will make them think twice before risking it for rich moron further up the chain!”
NEW DELHI — A state in western India has declared war on animal poaching by allowing forest guards to shoot hunters on sight in an effort to curb rampant attacks on tigers and other wildlife.
The government in Maharashtra says injuring or killing suspected poachers will no longer be considered a crime.
Forest guards should not be “booked for human rights violations when they have taken action against poachers,” Maharashtra Forest Minister Patangrao Kadam said Tuesday. The state also will send more rangers and jeeps into the forest, and will offer secret payments to informers who give tips about poachers and animal smugglers, he said.
No tiger poachers have ever been shot in Maharashtra, though cases of illegal loggers and fishermen being shot have led to charges against forest guards, according to the state’s chief wildlife warden, S.W.H. Naqvi.
But the threat could act as a significant deterrent to wildlife criminals, conservationists said. A similar measure allowing guards to fire on poachers in Assam has helped the northeast state’s population of endangered one-horned rhinos recover.
“These poachers have lost all fear. They just go in and poach what they want because they know the risks are low,” said Divyabhanusinh Chavda, who heads the World Wildlife Fund in India and is a key member of the National Wildlife Board, which advises the prime minister. In many of India’s reserves, guards are armed with little more than sticks.
India faces intense international scrutiny over its tiger conservation, as it holds half of the world’s estimated 3,200 tigers in dozens of wildlife reserves set up since the 1970s, when hunting was banned.
Illegal poaching remains a stubborn and serious threat, with tiger parts in particular fetching high prices on the black market because of demand driven by traditional Chinese medicine practitioners.
“AT last, they are taking the dwindling number of tigers seriously. Kill or be killed, or, sprag on those that do & earn yourself a nice little purse! Considering how little the hunters are paid, they would be better off grassing on the real killers!”
Maharashtra government says killing poachers will no longer be considered a crime after eight tiger deaths in the state this year.
A western Indian state has declared war on animal poaching, allowing forest guards to shoot hunters on sight to curb attacks on tigers, elephants and other wildlife.
The government in Maharashtra says injuring or killing suspected poachers will no longer be considered a crime.
Forest guards should not be “booked for human rights violations when they have taken action against poachers”, the Maharashtra forest minister, Patangrao Kadam, said on Tuesday. The state will also send more rangers and jeeps into forests, and will offer secret payments to informers who give tips about poachers and animal smugglers, he said.
India has about half of the world’s estimated 3,200 tigers in dozens of wildlife reserves set up since the 1970s. But illegal poaching remains a serious threat, with tiger parts sought in traditional Chinese medicine fetching high prices on the black market.
According to the Wildlife Protection Society of India, 14 tigers have been killed by poachers in India so far this year – one more than for all of 2011. The tiger is considered endangered, with its habitat range shrinking more than 50% in the last quarter-century and its numbers declining rapidly from the 5,000-7,000 estimated in the 1990s, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
Eight of this year’s tiger poaching deaths in India occurred in Maharashtra, including one whose body was found last week chopped into pieces with its head and paws missing in Tadoba tiger reserve. Forest officials have also found traps in the reserve, where about 40 tigers live.
Tiger parts used in traditional Chinese medicine are prized on the black market, but dozens of other animals are also targeted by hunters across India. Rhinos are prized for their horns and male elephants for their tusks, while other big cats such as leopards are hunted or poisoned by villagers afraid of attacks on their homes or livestock.
Encounters are rare between guards and poachers, who generally hunt the secretive and nocturnal big cats at night, according to Maharashtra’s chief wildlife warden, SWH Naqvi.
“We hardly ever come face-to-face with poachers,” he said on Wednesday, predicting few instances when guards might fire at suspects.
Instead, he predicted that the state’s offer to pay informers from a new government fund worth about 5m rupees ($90,000) would be more effective in curbing wildlife crime. “We get very few tips, so this will really help,” Naqvi said.
The stark truth about bear “farming” in China has touched the hearts of an unprecedented number of Chinese people. Thanks, perhaps, to the increased press exposure in China of the terrible truth about bear bile extraction.
As a European, my opinion may possibly be ignored by those responsible for this terrible trade and its place in Traditional Chinese Medicine but surely they cannot ignore the views of the Chinese people themselves.
Although an “outsider”, I believe I represent countless people around the world who are disgusted and deeply shocked by the terrible and cruel treatment of the thousands of bears who are victims of the TCM market, imprisoned in cages for years on end, and subjected to the painful and invasive extraction of the bile (often from open and infected wounds).
I feel I am justified in speaking out as I have personally visited some of the “farms” in Vietnam. I have seen the cages, the grotesque suffering of the bears. Witnessed the atrocious lives they endure. I have also seen the indifference of the “farm” owners. I shall never forget any of it. It is the stuff of nightmares.
I have also visited the Animals Asia Rescue Centres in Vietnam and in China. The tireless and courageous work of Jill Robinson and her team (supported by Born Free), is the beacon of light that shines out and brings hope to those beautiful moon bears. Those lucky enough to be saved and given the chance of a new life, arrive with manifold and terrible physical problems. And one would think that they would harbour deep and long-lasting grudges against all humans because of their previous treatment. But animals understand so much more than we ever give them credit for. I am sure, beyond all doubt, that the rescued bears I saw knew that they were safe and loved.
I am very honoured to be the Animals Asia UK Patron and I add my voice to all the others who call for the end of the bear bile trade and the unspeakable suffering it causes. Let humans also be humane.
A video about the disgusting and cruel bear bile industry and the suffering these innocent creatures go through. Making a bear bile video with this song was just asking to be done. Song No way out by Phil Collins (from the film brother bear)
Footage: Moon Bears Journey to Freedom. Before its too late plight of the asian bear Various bear rescue videos on youtube Jackie Chan PSA on bear bile farming
This video is made to spread awareness about this inhumane practise, no copywrite infringement is intended and no profit is being made from this video
“This always makes me cry, why do we abuse animals for something that belongs to them; we have no right to take it from them. Tests prove, bear bile has nothing medicinal in it, in other words, they are suffering because of past generations misconceptions of bear bile”
CHINESE farmers who torture caged bears by taking their bile and turning it into medicine are being met with a wave of revulsion from their own people.
Shock figures released last week show that 87 per cent of China’s 1.3 billion population are now against the evil trade.
As many as 20,000 mainly Asiatic black bears are “milked” daily for their bile, either through crude catheters or from holes left permanently open in their stomachs. It is then used to treat ailments like gallstones and liver disease.
Last week the Sunday Express launched a crusade calling for the Chinese Government to ban the practice. Already thousands of readers have signed our petition, which will be delivered to the Chinese Embassy in London. The tidal wave of opposition in China follows a series of embarrassing gaffes by those who support the industry. Fang Shuting, director of the China Association of Traditional Chinese Medicine, sparked anger last week when he claimed the bile collecting process was as harmless as “turning on a tap”.
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