BOS won't give up on orangutans in Thailand and Cambodia

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Dear Friends of the Orangutan,

The Borneo Orangutan Survival Foundation is continuing

their fight to demand the immediate repatriation of

over 100 smuggled orangutans in Thailand and Cambodia.

 

The following is a letter written to the CITES

authorities and Thai authorities by Edwin Weik, BOS

Representative in Thailand.

Please feel free to send this letter on to any

interested parties or press to increase pressure on

the authorities to act. Please also be sure to sign

our petition repatriate the Thai orangutans.

http://www.thePetitionSite.com/takeaction/822035733

 

THE BORNEO ORANGUTAN SURVIVAL FOUNDATION

 

Thailand representative

Address: 16 Moo 6, Tambon Thamairuak

Amphoe Thayang, 76130 Petchaburi

Thailand

Tel: + (66)32-458135 , 09-5461398

Email: edwin.wiek

Website: www.savetheorangutans.info

 

 

H.E. Mr. Suwit Khunkitti

Minister of Natural Resources and

Environment (MoNRE)

92 Phaholyothin Road

Saphan Kwai

Bangkok 10400 Thailand

 

 

November 9, 2004

 

Re: 4th request for information about illegal

orangutans in Thailand

 

Att: Minister of Natural Resources and Environment

C.c.: Prime Minister Pol Lt-Col. Dr. Thaksin

Shinawatra

CITES authority Ministry of Forestry – Indonesia

CITES authority DNP - Thailand

BOSF head office – Indonesia

Petition members International NGO’s

John Sellar- CITES Chief Enforcement Officer

 

 

Dear Excellency Khun Suwit Khunkitti,

 

We would like to refer to our letters dated August

14th and September 22nd of this year. Unfortunately we

have not received your reply or comments in these

matters, or indeed any acknowledgement whatsoever.

Furthermore we have not received any reaction to our

petition signed by 50 international Non-Governmental

Organizations that was handed over to you by us on

October 14th at the CITES convention in Bangkok.

 

Hereby we would like to kindly remind you about the

following matters;

 

1. Four (4) live orangutans were confiscated from two

different locations during raids by Forestry Police

and DNP officials in the last quarter of 2003. One has

since died at one of the DNP wildlife breeding

centers; three remain at the Kao Prathapchang Breeding

Center in Ratchaburi. These three orangutans are

believed to have been smuggled in from East and

Central Kalimantan, Indonesia. These animals urgently

need to be sent back to Indonesia if repatriation, no

doubt the most desirable option from a conservation

point of view, is to be successful.

 

2. Nine (9) orangutans were found by one of our

investigation teams at the Lopburi Zoo. It is believed

that five (5) juveniles of this group of orangutans

were brought into the Lopburi Zoo a few months ago. No

import permits according to the CITES convention can

be found regarding these animals. It is therefore

believed that these animals have been illegally

obtained and/or imported. The five orangutans were

taken to the Kao Prathapchang Breeding Center in

Ratchaburi at the end of September, however no police

report was made by the Department of National Parks

although the animals were illegally obtained. We feel

it is very strange that illegal wildlife is not

officially confiscated and that the culprit owners go

free, however as these animals are not bound to any

legal process they should be free to be immediately

repatriated.

 

3. The Cambodian CITES authorities have repeatedly

confirmed to us that 22 orangutans were smuggled into

Cambodia from Thailand earlier this year. These

orangutans ended up at Koh Kong Safariworld, a zoo on

an island bordering Trat province. We kindly ask you

to look into the illegal trade in orangutans also

where Thailand is used not as final destination, but

also as transit route.

 

4. At the end of September of this year, Safariworld

did confess in writing to the Forestry Police

Department that 47 orangutans were indeed illegally

obtained by them and were not born at the zoo. On the

4th of October a letter from the Commander of the

Forestry Police to the Director-General of the

Department of National Parks Wildlife and Plants was

sent requesting to confiscate and remove these illegal

orangutans from the zoo, therefore making the DNA

check easier without mixing up the legal and illegal

apes. Safariworld stated they were willing and ready

to hand over these animals; the law mentions very

clearly that illegal wildlife should be confiscated,

and in the case of a confession this should have been

done on an immediate basis. We would like to be

informed as to why no action has been taken by the

DNP.

 

We again look forward to your cooperation to determine

whether these above mentioned orangutans are illegally

obtained, and if found so to determine whether the

animals can be returned to their country of origin as

stipulated in the CITES agreement under article 8.1.1.

as Thailand is a signatory of this convention.

 

 

Yours truly,

 

 

Edwin J. Wiek

BOSF representative Thailand

edwin.wiek

 

=====

Michelle Desilets

BOS UK

www.savetheorangutan.org.uk

www.savetheorangutan.info

" Primates Helping Primates "

 

Please sign our petition to rescue over 100 smuggled orangutans in Thailand:

http://www.thePetitionSite.com/takeaction/822035733

 

 

 

 

 

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