Thai man arrested due to smuggling of two orangutans

Thai man arrested due to smuggling of two orangutans

in Bangkok, Thailand, a man was suspected of being connected to the trade of wild animals after he was discovered two Baby orangutans in a basket at a petrol station. The 47-year-old was arrested on Wednesday when he was about to hand over the two primates to a customer, the Thai police said on Thursday.

discovery of the orangutans

The officials found the orangutans-a one-year-old animal and the other one month old-in plastic containers, the police reported. Pictures published by the authorities show one of the orangutans in a plastic container that carries a diaper and hugs a cuddly toy, in addition to wrong feeding.

legal consequences

The man was arrested under Thai law for "illegal possessions of protected wild animals" and could be received up to four years in prison, the police said. Investigators try to clarify the origin of the baby orgututans. Kasidach Charoenlap, an official of the central investigative office, told CNN on Friday that the suspect had admitted to delivering the animals, but not said where he got it from.

background of the case

The police reported that a network for illegal trading in wild animals was uncovered and they check whether the orangutans were bred in Thailand or abroad. This operation was carried out in collaboration with the US Fish and Wildlife Service, the Wildlife Justice Commission in the Netherlands and the United Nations Office for Drug and Crime Composition.

The saved orangutans

The two orangutans, who listen to the names Christopher and Stefan, now receive care of experts from the department for national parks, wildlife and plant management. According to the authorities, the one -month Stefan is in an incubator due to weak health, while Christopher, who is one year old, has been moved to a protected area led by the authority.

economic incentives and threats

The authorities estimated that the orangutans should be sold for around 300,000 Thai baht ($ 9,050). Orangutans are at home in Sumatra and Borneo, two islands in southeastern Asia, which are among the most diverse rainforests in the world. These animals are threatened by deforestation, destruction of their habitat and poaching.

protection status of the orangutans

They are classified as "critically endangered" under the red list of the endangered types of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), which rates the risk of extinction. According to the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), the gentle apes, which once met in large numbers in Southeast Asia, experienced a dramatic decline in their population.

Thailand's role in the illegal wildlife trade

Thailand has long been a center for illegal trading in wild animals. The border region to Myanmar, Laos and China - known as the golden triangle - is a hotspot for cross -border trade, illegal wildlife trade and consumption, as the WWF reports.