Thailand urged to update law to protect elephants



BANGKOK: -- A wildlife trade monitoring network has urged Thailand to update legislation that currently leaves the animals vulnerable, The Irrawaddy reported.

According to the monitoring network, TRAFFIC, in an assessment of the live elephant trade in Thailand between April 2011 and March 2013, at least 60 percent of the animals trafficked came from Myanmar.

Myanmar is home to about 5,000 Asian Elephants, the network said in a statement on Monday, as it released a report on the illegal trade. Many wild elephants are captured to supply the tourism industry in Thailand.

In 2012, the Thai government began examining the authenticity of origin and ownership documents of elephants being held in captivity.

“Thailand’s action have caused the illegal trade in live elephants from Myanmar to halt, but unless urgent changes are made to outdated legislation and better systems are introduced to document the origin of elephants in tourists camps and other locations across Thailand things could quickly revert to their previous unacceptable state,” Chris Shepherd, TRAFFIC’s regional director for Southeast Asia, said in the statement.

For example, current legislation states that elephants only need to be registered when they turn 8 years old, the network said.

Source: http://englishnews.thaipbs.or.th/thailand-urged-update-law-protect-elephants/


-- Thai PBS 2014-07-08

Not just Elephants but. All Animals in General get a raw deal here in Thailand.

They are Buddhists. They don't harm animals.

Here is a photo from a BBC report on this same topic:

A calf in a pit trap before its hell awaits:

A previous thread from a couple of years ago had links to videos of breaking in the elephants. And it was barbaric. It is uncivilised in my book. Doing that to an animal so it can one day 'entertain' people. We are supposed to be the intelligent species.

Interesting there is a petition with almost 500,000 signatures calling to sanction Thailand.

According to the petition, Thailand’s ivory market tripled in the last 18 months.

Thailand has made little progress with implementing its National Ivory Action Plan and changing its laws to protect elephants, according to a report by the CITES Secretariat.

I remember the CITES meeting in Thailand and thought nothing will change after Yingluck claimed that they would work towards making changes. I thought it was utter bullshit coming from her mouth and I was right (it would have been the same had the other side been in power too)

Something did change. It got worse.

Hopefully, the Junta will smash the trade up because NO politicians would, but I won't be holding my breath.

I wonder if one day, elephants will be to Thailand what Pandas are to China. With a the only ones left in zoos (for every 2 elephants in a zoo, only 1 calf is produced - they don't breed well in zoos - which will push them further to the brink) loaned out to foreign zoos?

They are Buddhists. They don't harm animals.

Here is a photo from a BBC report on this same topic:

A calf in a pit trap before its hell awaits:

A previous thread from a couple of years ago had links to videos of breaking in the elephants. And it was barbaric. It is uncivilised in my book. Doing that to an animal so it can one day 'entertain' people. We are supposed to be the intelligent species.

Interesting there is a petition with almost 500,000 signatures calling to sanction Thailand.

According to the petition, Thailands ivory market tripled in the last 18 months.

Thailand has made little progress with implementing its National Ivory Action Plan and changing its laws to protect elephants, according to a report by the CITES Secretariat.

I remember the CITES meeting in Thailand and thought nothing will change after Yingluck claimed that they would work towards making changes. I thought it was utter bullshit coming from her mouth and I was right (it would have been the same had the other side been in power too)

Something did change. It got worse.

Hopefully, the Junta will smash the trade up because NO politicians would, but I won't be holding my breath.

I wonder if one day, elephants will be to Thailand what Pandas are to China. With a the only ones left in zoos (for every 2 elephants in a zoo, only 1 calf is produced - they don't breed well in zoos - which will push them further to the brink) loaned out to foreign zoos?

Thais generally believe that a Thais right to do business comes above all else, including the law and animal protection.

That is why the government believes it is more important to protect the 50-100 (PTP gov. estimate) ivory shops in Thailand than to protect elephants and rhinos from extinction.

Simply making all ivory trade illegal would end Thailand's participation in the extinction from one day to another,but apparently keeping those 50-100 shops alive is more important.

Not just Elephants but. All Animals in General get a raw deal here in Thailand.

At least they can feel a lot safer now that Daktari Plod has been removed from the scene.

Off the streets please!