Wildlife Alliance

One of 50 orangutans seized from a private zoo in Thailand by ASEAN-WEN officials in 2006.

WASHINGTON— In Bangkok’s vast, crowded Chatuchak Market, the usual crew of people showed up recently to sell endangered animals such as gibbons, star turtles, Madagascar tortoises, horn-billed birds, and slow lorises.

But this time, a team of special police descended on them, arresting many and ending the illegal sales.

Police Maj. Gen. Surasit Sangkhaphong, who was recently appointed by the Royal Thai Government to head a special environmental protection unit, told FrontLines on a visit to Washington that he is “collecting” people arrested for selling endangered animals by different agencies in Thailand.

It was unknown whether this bearded dragon from Bangkok’s Chatuchak Market is a legal specimen or poached from the wild.

As a result of his actions and other Thai policies, the country is leading a regional effort to protect disappearing animals.

USAID has provided $3.6 million since 2006 to help ASEAN-WEN—the Association of Southeast Asian Nations’ Wildlife Enforcement Network—stop trafficking in endangered species.

The Thai effort is the first significant breakthrough in enforcement.

“We have to act to protect the wildlife species,” said Surasit.

Many of the animals are caught in Thailand, but others come from Indonesia and Malaysia and are shipped through Thailand. Rare animals and animal parts are purchased by some domestic customers, but most go to China where they are used as exotic food and are believed to enhance sexual performance.

Wildlife Alliance's Steve Galster, chief of party of the ASEAN-WEN Support Program, left, with a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service special agent.

The major general showed a video of confiscated animals including tigers and other large wild cats, both dead and alive, in cages. The video showed bear paws, snake skins, and other animal parts seized by police.

“To fight this crime we get support from USAID—without your support we would not be where we are today,” Surasit said, speaking in Thai through
an interpreter.

In Washington, the Thai police major general met with World Bank President Robert Zoellick at the National Zoo where they discussed a new tiger conservation initiative.

ASEAN-WEN is the world’s largest wildlife law enforcement network. In addition to Thailand, it includes Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Burma, Philippines, Singapore, and Vietnam.

The network has links to Interpol and other world bodies. It works internally by carrying out investigations; making arrests; and alerting border officers, judges, and prosecutors about the laws regarding protection of wildlife.

The USAID grant is helping to train 100 to 200 police and supply them with equipment. Technical assistance has also been provided from the U.S. Department of Justice, Fish and Wildlife Service, Environmental Protection Agency, National Park Service, and Forestry Service.

Pangolins are widely smuggled in Southeast Asia, both for food and medicinal uses. This photo was taken at Thailand’s Khao Yai National Park, where one of the ASEAN-WEN training centers is located.

In the past, Thai police have focused on drugs and other criminal activities, so shifting to protection of wildlife is requiring new skills.

“Wildlife crime remains a low priority” in the region, said the major general as he displayed photos of rare turtles. Collectively weighing a ton, the turtles were caught en route to China for use as food and medicine.

Michael Zwirn of the Wildlife Alliance, which is carrying out USAID’s support for the ASEAN-WEN program, said U.S. funds train customs and wildlife agencies in most of the 10 ASEAN countries to detect and interdict wildlife shipments; and to recognize wildlife that is protected under CITES – the Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species of Fauna and Flora.

In addition to helping countries thwart smuggling and protect endangered species, USAID funding builds public awareness about the illegal wildlife trade through its Sold Out campaign.

Materials are produced in Thai and English that encourage the public to refuse to purchase illegal plants and animals and to report any illegal sales they witness.