Raid on Koh Samui gibbons great success!

Will this be the end of exploitation of protected wildlife on Koh Samui?

one of the arrested men signing the confession

In a well prepared raid by the Natural Resources and Environmental Crime Division of the Royal Thai Police, headed by their commander Police Major-General Boonmee Somsuk, seven white handed gibbon babies were confiscated and their owners arrested on charges of illegal wildlife possession and cruelty to animals. Koh Samui, one of Thailand’s prime tourist destinations has seen the exploitation of many species of wildlife such as gibbons, snakes, young crocodiles, birds of prey and other protected wildlife being carried around as photo-props, where foreign tourists are offered to take pictures holding the animals for a charge of 200 to 500 Baht per person (US$ 6.- to 15.-)

The possession, hunting or trade in protected wildlife is punishable under Thai law with a fine of up to 40,000 Baht (US 1,200.-) and/or a jail term of up to 4 years.

In general, the law is not enforced to the full extent and the offenders are only fined are up to 15,000 Baht and do not serve a jail sentence. The people using the wild animals can typically make from 3000 to 7000 baht a day from tourists.

one more gibbon confiscated

The animals (in all cases baby or juvenile) are poached from the wild for this exploitation. In the case of the unfortunate gibbons, these animals are taken out of the wild by killing their parents before they can be removed from the tree tops. It is estimated that 8 gibbons are killed on average just to obtain one baby, as the gibbons live high up in the trees. Gibbons are lesser apes and only found in South-east and South Asia. All species are protected by local and international laws (C.I.T.E.S.).

The use of these wild animals has been a big concern for tourists visiting Thailand, as well as to the authorities in Bangkok, who have had trouble cracking down on this issue. Although these people are not considered big criminals, their actions are giving a bad image to the tourism industry and the country as a whole. Gibbons and several species of birds of prey are threatened with extinction, due to hunting pressure (for pet trade and tourism exploitation) and habitat loss. Koh Samui is the first tourist destination to be raided on the use of illegal wildlife as photo-props. Similar ongoing practice in Krabi, Pattaya and Phuket will also not be longer tolerated according to the Commander of Natural Resources and Environmental Crime Division.

7 baby gibbons at the police station

In the morning the baby gibbons await transport to the main land

The Wildlife Friends Foundation has been working closely together with the Royal Thai Police, investigating around the country, and applauds the swift action they have taken in dealing with the issue. Edwin Wiek, director of the Wildlife Friends Foundation, said that over the previous months several complaints were sent to other government departments and the local authorities; to no success as the wildlife owners had gotten away several times when they felt suspicious.

The gibbons have been put under the care of the WFFT’s mobile wildlife clinic team and will be handed over to a wildlife breeding center of the Department of National Parks (DNP) after medical check-up.