Bangkok, Thailand, 17th March 2021 – Thailand has given the highest level of protection under the country’s law to the Critically Endangered Helmeted Hornbill Rhinoplax vigil; a species heavily targeted by poachers and traffickers for its ivory-like casque.

The hornbill will be added to the ‘Reserved Wild Animal’ list under Thailand’s primary wildlife law, the Wildlife Conservation and Protection Act B.E 2562 (WARPA 2019). This is a list of  rare or endangered wild animals offered the highest protection level and has the stiffest penalties for those convicted of hunting or selling them.

The decision was made on 8 March at the national wildlife conservation and protection meeting led by the Natural Resources and Environment Minister, Varawut Silpa-archa. The legal process to add the bird to this list is expected to be completed within a year.

This is a welcome move and is amongst a series of strong actions we have seen coming from Thailand. TRAFFIC commends the government for offering this beleaguered species the strongest protection possible, especially given the perilous state of hornbill populations in region and the threat from illegal trade."

TRAFFIC’s Maethinee Phassaraudomsak.

The poaching and illegal trade of this species feeds a demand for luxury items such as jewellery and decorations, carved out of this hornbill’s casque, which is a solid helmet shaped structure at the top of the animal’s head.

Full story: https://www.traffic.org/news/critically-endangered-hornbill-gets-a-protection-boost-in-thailand/

-- © Copyright TRAFFC 2021-03-18

 

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Better  tell ole  fatboy at ItalThai to polish up his shooter then.

Still a few of them around where we are living ... but for how long ?

3 hours ago, webfact said:

The legal process to add the bird to this list is expected to be completed within a year.

Why does it take one year to add them to a list ?

12 minutes ago, nobodysfriend said:

Still a few of them around where we are living ... but for how long ?

Why does it take one year to add them to a list ?

Give time for last sales to go through.

5 hours ago, webfact said:

a demand for luxury items such as jewellery and decorations,

and people need to kill an innocent animal (bird) for that?

Better late than never, I suppose, but this should have been acted upon 20 years ago

4 hours ago, Pique Dard said:

and people need to kill an innocent animal (bird) for that?

Apparently...and guess what people want the bird remains...    Chinese.