Thailand seizes 25 smuggled endangered birds
By Digital Content



SA KAEO, May 28 -- Thai authorities seized a total of 25 endangered young birds at the Thai-Cambodian border as they were being smuggled to Cambodia on Tuesday.

The seizure was a result from the cooperation of special ranger forces, police officers and immigration officers who caught two Vietnamese men at Aranyaprathet Border Checkpoint in Thailand’s eastern province of Sa Kaeo while they were trying to smuggle 25 rare birds to Cambodia’s Poipet without official documents allowing the export of animals.

The men claimed they bought the birds from Chatuchak weekend market while visiting Thailand’s capital.

The birds include 10 macaws, three African grey parrots and 12 ringneck parakeets which are near extinction and listed under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). (MCOT online news)


-- TNA 2014-05-28

i bird, 11 admirers

None of them native to or found in the wild in Thailand.

Honest mistake?

Any bits of news in regard to helping wildlife is appreciated. I'd guess that for every little story like this, there are dozens of shipments gone unseen.

i bird, 11 admirers

Like flies to guano.

The big question is how can foreign nationals still buy internationally restricted and endangered wildlife openly at the Chatuchak Weekend Market, just a few kilometres away from the CITES Management Authority office in Bangkok, and under the noses of security and police whose responsibility it is to crack down on illegal trading at the market. Why after a decade of investment in training, equipment and support by conservation agencies and foreign governments, and hosting the ASEAN - Wildlife Enforcement Network programme can't the Thai authorities shutdown illegal wildlife trade at this famous tourist market? Perhaps the new military junta should overhaul DNP, the BMA and the Wildlife Police in their clean sweep of inept government agencies.

These birds will likely all be bred in captivity for sale so there must be breeders out there somewhere.

Unless they have been captured in their country of origin and Thailand is only a staging point in the rout from catcher to buyer.

More likely the former, especially with the ring neck parakeets as there are not supposed to be many left in the wild.

These birds can be traded legally to zoos, bird parks, collectors and breeders with the correct bits of paper.

It could be said that this actually helps the wild populations as it satisfies demand.

However there are still those out there who want to eat rare and endangered animals and birds and that's where the illegal trade comes in.

The big question is how can foreign nationals still buy internationally restricted and endangered wildlife openly at the Chatuchak Weekend Market, just a few kilometres away from the CITES Management Authority office in Bangkok, and under the noses of security and police whose responsibility it is to crack down on illegal trading at the market. Why after a decade of investment in training, equipment and support by conservation agencies and foreign governments, and hosting the ASEAN - Wildlife Enforcement Network programme can't the Thai authorities shutdown illegal wildlife trade at this famous tourist market? Perhaps the new military junta should overhaul DNP, the BMA and the Wildlife Police in their clean sweep of inept government agencies.

They SAID that's where they got them, have you seen birds like that for sale there, I never have although I don't go there often.

These birds will likely all be bread in captivity for sale so there must be breeders out there somewhere.

Unless they have been captured in their country of origin and Thailand is only a staging point in the rout from catcher to buyer.

More likely the former, especially with the ring neck parakeets as there are not supposed to be many left in the wild.

These birds can be traded legally to zoos, bird parks, collectors and breeders with the correct bits of paper.

It could be said that this actually helps the wild populations as it satisfies demand.

However there are still those out there who want to eat rare and endangered animals and birds and that's where the illegal trade comes in.

These were very unlikely to have been on a menu, they bring a pretty high price from the public market alive and as pets.

Exotic birds are sought after as a curiosity and talking point to show off here,

Illegal trafficking of animals is big business in Thailand, sad as it is

Ringneck parakeets near extinction? They can come to London and take as many as they want, or any other large European city for that matter.

Illegal trafficking of animals is big business in Thailand, sad as it is

Which is why a Thai woman I know who works boats of birdwatchers in the Andaman islands are not allowed to disembark. Along with all the other Thai crew.

Every time I see these reports, I cringe , knowing full well that a combine task force or other outside help was instrumental in the successful out - comes, guaranteed it was a good out come and congratulations to everyone for a job well done.

Why aren't they smuggling Koel birds? why we the only one to suffer?.....

Just reading the headline, I thought they raided Soi Cowboy they have a fair share of endangered birds down there these days

Ringneck parakeets near extinction? They can come to London and take as many as they want, or any other large European city for that matter.

Better if they took all the Pigeons

As increasing #'s of Chinese get rich, they're able to buy more coveted things. I just spoke with a SE Asian who is hired by a Chinese company to get as much highest value hardwood from SE Asia as possible. His instructions; 'get reasonable price, and buy it all. Even if price is high, buy it all, because we can always sell it for more.' Probably same dynamic going on with other wheeler-dealers, re; endangered animals. If China was still poor, and a billion people didn't have such buying power, how would the dynamic be different?

I just looked closely at a new map of wild tiger (and their habitat) distribution worldwide. Thailand was 6th with an estimated 200, and China was 10th with 40 to 50 tigers left in the wild. A few hundred years ago, numbers were in the millions. Now, there's one wild tiger in China, for every 45 million people.

Ringnecks are from India (and thrive in the UK and elsewhere as mentioned above) and are about as endangered as budgies. African Grey's are hardly endangered either. The story doesn't say which macaws they found. Since these appear to be captive bred birds which have not been taken from South America/Africa the offence is barely newsworthy. Even so, it's encouraging that the authorities are on the case and hopefully preventing more serious offences concerning wild caught endangered birds.

The Thais caught them Vietnamese smuggling rare birds to Cambodia. No Thais involved in the crime or busts.

Look for the authorities at the Office of Transport you'll find them at the same Thai Table.

The big question is how can foreign nationals still buy internationally restricted and endangered wildlife openly at the Chatuchak Weekend Market, just a few kilometres away from the CITES Management Authority office in Bangkok, and under the noses of security and police whose responsibility it is to crack down on illegal trading at the market. Why after a decade of investment in training, equipment and support by conservation agencies and foreign governments, and hosting the ASEAN - Wildlife Enforcement Network programme can't the Thai authorities shutdown illegal wildlife trade at this famous tourist market? Perhaps the new military junta should overhaul DNP, the BMA and the Wildlife Police in their clean sweep of inept government agencies.

i bird, 11 admirers

Can't count?

The Thais caught them Vietnamese smuggling rare birds to Cambodia. No Thais involved in the crime or busts.

"The Thais caught them...". "No Thais involved...".

Another one of your pathetic attempts to denigrate the Thai authorities but you contradicted yourself in your own post.

The big question is how can foreign nationals still buy internationally restricted and endangered wildlife openly at the Chatuchak Weekend Market, just a few kilometres away from the CITES Management Authority office in Bangkok, and under the noses of security and police whose responsibility it is to crack down on illegal trading at the market. Why after a decade of investment in training, equipment and support by conservation agencies and foreign governments, and hosting the ASEAN - Wildlife Enforcement Network programme can't the Thai authorities shutdown illegal wildlife trade at this famous tourist market? Perhaps the new military junta should overhaul DNP, the BMA and the Wildlife Police in their clean sweep of inept government agencies.

Depending on the animal, it is legal to trade them domestically. It is exporting them that is prohibited. There is no problem buying many animals at Jatukak (or a pet store in the US or Europe), however attempting to cross the border without the proper license is illegal.

That is the situation of the African Grey Parrot mentioned in the article. They breed and sell them in the US and Europe as well. But trading them internationally without a permit is a crime.