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A THAI MAN has been arrested after authorities found him with 16 tiger cubs in his pick-up truck while driving near the kingdom’s border with Laos.
The 52-year-old was arrested Friday afternoon in Khon Kaen province in northeastern Thailand during a routine check by authorities, who found the cats, aged between six weeks and two months, in cages in the back of the vehicle.
Police said the man was paid 15,000 baht (€400) to transport the tigers from Bangkok, but he denied knowing the identity of the animals’ owners.
“He said he only talked to them on the telephone not in person,” Lieutenant Colonel Kusol Pongbunchan, chief investigator of the local district police told AFP.
He said the driver faced charges of illegal possession and trafficking of endangered species.
The tigers, which are not thought to have been taken from the wild, were entrusted to officials of the National Park, Wildlife and Plant Conservation Department.
Thailand, a hub of international smuggling, is one of just 13 countries hosting fragile tiger populations. Worldwide, numbers are estimated to have fallen to only 3,200 tigers from approximately 100,000 a century ago.
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Animal trafficking is a serious problem. There are fewer than 500 tigers left in the wild. Poaching and trafficking must be stopped!
3,200 according to this article?
3200 in total Rob, in the wild and captivity.
Wrong.. According to science daily, captive tiger populations are flourishing, between 15,000-20000.
Do police suspect this is a Thai-ger kidnapping?
A–hole.
Thanks Andy
The jokes are cat!
wouldn’t you just love one as a pet
A Thai man? no, but there has to be a website that would hook you up…
I read it first as ‘on the border of Laois’
this story is grrrrrrreat
Hope none of them were Celtic tigers.
I blame esso, telling people they have a tiger in their tank. Something obviously got lost in translation…
i’d feed the little bastard to adult tigers
Not one bit surprised at this…no doubt they were on their way to somewhere like Tiger Kingdom where you can go into the cages with the tigers who’ve all been doped. Health and safety and regulations are non existent in Thailand.
Cripes!! This story is awful. A friend of mine had an uncle who used to hunt little tiger cubs up in the wilds of Killybegs, Co Donegal back in the 60′s.
Get this… This sick and sadistic man chopped the rear end of the cub and hung it on the wall like you would the head of a deer or wild boar.
Recently, I was invited to his house for a late night sherry and some cigars when I accidentally walked into his display room.
Oh my God! When I saw the tiger cub’s behind mounted on that plaque, I just thought to myself… “What a cat-ass-trophy!”
and that is pure bull shit why bother lying
I kiss you!
I believe they were destined for the Irish market where desperate pencil pushing Government officials are willing to try anything to jumpstart the Celtic Tiger economy.
Don’t think they got the memo explaining the Tiger Economy metaphor.
My sources have since informed me that a notorious online poaching forum (PoachingCoaching.ie) has been visited several times by certain government related IP addresses. Particular search topics included: “Does Rhino horn really get you going?” And “Is there enough Rhino horn in the world to get an entire country going?”
Apparently, due to budget cutbacks they were looking into less expensive alternatives and posted some requests for some cheaper secondhand important tusks.
This takes the absolute biscuit! What on earth are they doing, trying to waste more taxpayers money again? Sure aren’t they already sitting in body great Ivory Towers up there in Dublin!
Sheesh!!! Why I oughta…
Crumbs!! –>Elephant<–
Yea I suppose Gerry,and u know they look so nice-but I couldn’t eat a full one!
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