Wildlife smugglers transporting more than a thousand pounds of reptiles—including water snakes (above) and Burmese pythons—were intercepted by a Cambodian wildlife rescue team in November 2008.
November 24, 2008
Stefan Lovgren
for National Geographic News
Two wildlife smugglers transporting hundreds of live turtles and pythons jammed into the backs of cars have been arrested by Cambodian officials.
The drivers were apparently heading to neighboring Vietnam to sell the animals—many of them rare—to the region's illegal wildlife markets.
The November 9 seizure by a special Cambodian government task force comes on the heels of two other raids on wildlife smugglers in Malaysia.
Cambodia has long been considered a hot spot in the booming illegal wildlife trade, with many of its animals regularly siphoned off to Vietnam and on to China to be eaten or used in traditional medicine.
But large wildlife seizures such as the one in November may signal a positive shift in Cambodia's fight against traders, said Nick Marx, the Cambodia Wildlife Rescue Director for the conservation group Wildlife Alliance.
Animals are being rescued there every week, and larger busts may happen once or twice a month, Marx said.
Reptile Loot
The smugglers were stopped in Kâmpóng Chhnǎng Province in central Cambodia while heading east toward Vietnam.
In the two vehicles' trunks, officials found 1,069 pounds (485 kilograms) of live wildlife, including three species of turtles—yellow-headed temple turtles, Malayan snail-eating turtles, and Asiatic softshell turtles—that are listed as either endangered or vulnerable on the International Union for Conservation of Nature's Red List of Threatened Species.
Slow-growing turtles are particularly vulnerable to poaching, experts say, and wildlife traders can wipe out entire populations in a river or lake with one shipment.
The loot also included king cobras, reticulated pythons, and Burmese pythons.
The animals were packed into bags and metal tins and kept on blocks of ice to prevent them from overheating.
The smugglers, two Cambodian men in their late 20s, were arrested by authorities.
The animals, thought to have come from protected areas in Battambang Province in western Cambodia, were released into a protected area near Tonle Sap Lake in the country's central region, according to Wildlife Alliance.
Informant Network
Before the most recent bust, task force officials were tipped off about two Toyotas loaded with wildlife.
The government task force—called the Wildlife Rapid Rescue Team—relies on a countrywide network of informants, who alert them to potential smuggling activities.
"When we receive information, we have to react extremely quickly," Marx said.
"Animals are often in transit, and if we don't reach them before they reach the border we're not able to rescue them."
The Wildlife Alliance-backed group of eight military police and four forestry officials has rescued some 32,000 animals in Cambodia since the task force was set up in 2001.
Big-Market Business
Though still traditionally accepted in Cambodia, wild meat consumption has declined dramatically in the country in recent years.
"A lot of the traders that used to sell wildlife meat [to Cambodians] have stopped," Marx said.
But the Southeast Asian country remains an important source of animals for the regional wildlife trade, and traders operating there are becoming increasingly sophisticated, conservationists say.
"It's a professional, big-market business run by people who know what they're sourcing and know where they're selling it," said Colin Poole, director of the Asia program for the Wildlife Conservation Society.
With a 12-person task force to cover a country the size of the U.S. state of Missouri, smugglers often manage to escape into neighboring countries, using tricks such as switching cars to avoid detection.
Cambodia is also part of the Association of Southeast Nations Wildlife Enforcement Network, or ASEAN-WEN, which was formed in 2005 to combat the illegal wildlife trade.
But Cambodia has had little involvement with the network so far, according to Marx of Wildlife Alliance.
"This is a regional problem, and so we need to be addressing it on a more regional basis," he said.
"A stronger connection with ASEAN-WEN … [would] be a big step forward, as it will mean that traders can still be arrested and animals rescued even after they leave the country."
The drivers were apparently heading to neighboring Vietnam to sell the animals—many of them rare—to the region's illegal wildlife markets.
The November 9 seizure by a special Cambodian government task force comes on the heels of two other raids on wildlife smugglers in Malaysia.
Cambodia has long been considered a hot spot in the booming illegal wildlife trade, with many of its animals regularly siphoned off to Vietnam and on to China to be eaten or used in traditional medicine.
But large wildlife seizures such as the one in November may signal a positive shift in Cambodia's fight against traders, said Nick Marx, the Cambodia Wildlife Rescue Director for the conservation group Wildlife Alliance.
Animals are being rescued there every week, and larger busts may happen once or twice a month, Marx said.
Reptile Loot
The smugglers were stopped in Kâmpóng Chhnǎng Province in central Cambodia while heading east toward Vietnam.
In the two vehicles' trunks, officials found 1,069 pounds (485 kilograms) of live wildlife, including three species of turtles—yellow-headed temple turtles, Malayan snail-eating turtles, and Asiatic softshell turtles—that are listed as either endangered or vulnerable on the International Union for Conservation of Nature's Red List of Threatened Species.
Slow-growing turtles are particularly vulnerable to poaching, experts say, and wildlife traders can wipe out entire populations in a river or lake with one shipment.
The loot also included king cobras, reticulated pythons, and Burmese pythons.
The animals were packed into bags and metal tins and kept on blocks of ice to prevent them from overheating.
The smugglers, two Cambodian men in their late 20s, were arrested by authorities.
The animals, thought to have come from protected areas in Battambang Province in western Cambodia, were released into a protected area near Tonle Sap Lake in the country's central region, according to Wildlife Alliance.
Informant Network
Before the most recent bust, task force officials were tipped off about two Toyotas loaded with wildlife.
The government task force—called the Wildlife Rapid Rescue Team—relies on a countrywide network of informants, who alert them to potential smuggling activities.
"When we receive information, we have to react extremely quickly," Marx said.
"Animals are often in transit, and if we don't reach them before they reach the border we're not able to rescue them."
The Wildlife Alliance-backed group of eight military police and four forestry officials has rescued some 32,000 animals in Cambodia since the task force was set up in 2001.
Big-Market Business
Though still traditionally accepted in Cambodia, wild meat consumption has declined dramatically in the country in recent years.
"A lot of the traders that used to sell wildlife meat [to Cambodians] have stopped," Marx said.
But the Southeast Asian country remains an important source of animals for the regional wildlife trade, and traders operating there are becoming increasingly sophisticated, conservationists say.
"It's a professional, big-market business run by people who know what they're sourcing and know where they're selling it," said Colin Poole, director of the Asia program for the Wildlife Conservation Society.
With a 12-person task force to cover a country the size of the U.S. state of Missouri, smugglers often manage to escape into neighboring countries, using tricks such as switching cars to avoid detection.
Cambodia is also part of the Association of Southeast Nations Wildlife Enforcement Network, or ASEAN-WEN, which was formed in 2005 to combat the illegal wildlife trade.
But Cambodia has had little involvement with the network so far, according to Marx of Wildlife Alliance.
"This is a regional problem, and so we need to be addressing it on a more regional basis," he said.
"A stronger connection with ASEAN-WEN … [would] be a big step forward, as it will mean that traders can still be arrested and animals rescued even after they leave the country."
8 comments:
i'm glad to see cambodian official stop illegal smuggling of wildlife out of cambodia. and thanks to the international community as well, especially the western nations like australia, the EU, the USA, etc, for helping cambodia to curve this kind of illegal smuggling of cambodian wildlife to such countries as vietnam, thailand, etc... may god continue to bless cambodia forever.
Economists have overlooked the fact that the Cambodian economy is largely a gathering economy, gathering natural resources (including reptile, wild animals, fish, forestry, gemstones - and land) and exploiting the cultual heritage of Khmer ancestors (tourism). We have added little value to thes natural and cultural resources.
Our farmers have added value to their lands by growing crops. Our our gament and shoes factory workers have added value to imported raw materials.
Adding more value to natural and cultural resources and imported materials is a key element of economic growth and development.
Look at South Korea and Japan, both having virtually no natural resources, only the population. They have become wealthy countries by adding more value to imported raw materials and selling the manufactured goods to other countries.
Of course, the Korean and the Japanese have organised themselves very well to produce skilled people to add more value to anything they have imported and produce manufactured goods that people around the world want.
LAO Mong Hay, Hong Kong
The rules of law are in place for Cambodians to enforce and obey, but due to poverty and low pay for police offers, this thing can only be stopped if it came across the real devotee official. Otherwise, who would give a damn about the animals? This is Mr. HUN KWANG total control. No one is above the law except himself. I'm also happy that it has been stopped successfully this time. May God bless.
If these people (smugglers) get caught, they can always buy themselves out; after all, this is a corrupt country governed by corrupted and undemocratically un-Cambodian leaders.
Another way to get out is to pay the Human Right NGO, and they will find some violation on the police part to let them go.
Sadly, following the seizure, without a doubt, theese snakes and other wild animals will end up on the high-raking official plates.
What do you think? Do you think these wild animals will be released back in the wild or zoo? I don't think so!
It's better to release it into someone's belly than the stupid wild. We got too many of them.
i hate to say it but cambodian people tend to think everything is set in stone. thus, hard to change their view or mentality. it guess it's a cultural thing or something. people have to learn that nothing is set in stone and that changes are possible when everyone take action. i mean, the way things are in cambodia is good if cambodia has no competition say like from its neighbors like vietnam and thailand, especially vietnam which is culturally very different from cambodia. so, when you have a culture like the vietnamese clashing with khmer culture, it is time for cambodia to have some reforms and changes so we are able to compete with the vietnamese. this is where the real competition is. so, for cambodia to be savvy like the vietnamese, some attitude and mentality must be change to adjust to the new way of life and way of doing business. think about it!
Post a Comment