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PM pleased Thailand removed from CITES blacklist


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PM pleased Thailand removed from CITES blacklist

Thammarat Thadaphrom

 

BANGKOK, 13th October 2018 (NNT) – Thailand has been removed from the blacklist of countries involved in the illegal ivory trade, by a standing committee of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). 

Addressing the public this week, Prime Minister Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha said he was thrilled with the decision made recently by the standing committee, saying that it was a great success for the country. 

For several years, Thailand had been branded one of the world’s major markets for illegal ivory products, most of which came from wild elephants killed in Africa and smuggled into the country. The Thai government in 2014 implemented an action plan to end ivory trading in the country. 

It also amended two laws – Wildlife Conservation and Protection Act, B.E. 2557 (2014) and Elephant Tusks Act, B.E. 2558 (2015). The amendments aim to tighten regulations and procedures for ivory product possession, ivory registration, and DNA testing process. 

Gen Prayut instructed relevant agencies to continue their efforts to suppress the illegal ivory trade. The removal of Thailand from the CITES watch list has saved the country from the risk of trade sanctions, which could have affected trading activities in over 35,000 species of plants and animals, worth 47 billion baht a year. 

Moreover, the success of Thailand in ending the illegal ivory trade also helps save the lives of some of the 20,000 wild African elephants at present being killed each year. 

Anyone witnessing elephants being tortured or misused in any way should inform the authorities via the hotline 1362, which operates around the clock.

 

 
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-- nnt 2018-10-13
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