Raids on wildlife rescue charities put Thai wildlife agency chief under the spotlight
From ANIMAL PEOPLE, April 2012:
BANGKOK–Making a show of belatedly cracking down on wildlife trafficking, especially commerce in elephants to work at tourist camps, Thailand Department of National Parks, Wildlife & Plant Conservation chief Damrong Phidet entered April 2012 “under attack from both the goodies and the baddies,” assessed The Nation sub-editor and Foreign Correspondents Club of Thailand board member Jim Pollard.
“The owners of camps along the Burma border and others in Surin, some of them thought to be deeply involved in elephant smuggling, have talked about blocking highways and petitioning to try to get Damrong Phidet removed,” Pollard continued. Also seeking Damrong Phidet’s removal were more than 58,250 petitioners declaring support for Wildlife Friends Foundation of Thailand founder Edwin Wiek and Elephant Nature Park founder Sangduan Lek Chailert, whose animal charities were the targets of apparent retaliatory raids by wildlife officials in February 2012. Read more