Guest guest Posted March 26, 2007 Report Share Posted March 26, 2007 Update on Assam-Thailand Zoo swap. Dear all, Would like to share some update on the proposed animal exchange between 'Thailand Zoological Park' and 'Assam State Zoo'. Smt. Maneka Gandhi was the first to give us some good news that the Orangutans have been spared from the swap. She writes: " No orangs will be allowed by CZA. The rest unfortunately will come in for some " breeding " programme unless Thailand stops it seeing the rubbish conditions of the Guwahati Zoo which is one of the worst kept in the country. " Maneka Gandhi. I am sure Edwin Wiek of 'Wildlife Friends of Thailand, who was in Guwahati in November`2005 to inspect the 'Assam State Zoo' along with a Thai-TV crew following news of the Thai-Assam animal swap can be instrumental in letting the Thai authorities know of the conditions of the 'Assam State Zoo' and if it is feasible to bring here animals from Thailand and vice versa. Edwin is following up this Zoo exchange since 2005, when news about this swap first broke in the media. Following is the message received from Edwin a few days back: " I met with the minister of forestry in November 2005 in Assam and visited the zoo as well as we heard that Thai officials of the zoo authority visited the Guwahati zoo earlier that year to discuss an animal swap. I explained to them that the orangutans offered by the zoo in Thailand were illegally obtained animals, confiscated from slaughterhouses (3) and others were " donated (2) by illegal owners. The minister assured me that they would never allow the import of such animals as they should be returned to their country of origin. (The minister said during that meeting that he wanted illegally exported wildlife from India returned as well. We can now see that the Indian government does not care where the " merchandise " comes from, as long as it " sells " . Make it very clear; these orangutans were poached from Borneo and illegally shipped to Thailand. Anyone accepting these animals is taking in stolen goods as payment for other animals. " Edwin Wiek WFFT http://www.wfft.org Following is the response by CITES to Ms. Anuradha Sawhney, Chief functionary, PETA-India: Marcos.Silva [Marcos.Silva] Thu 3/22/2007 10:53 Anuradha Sawhney Cc: Virginia.Rothenbuhler Fw: Orangutans coming to India from Thailand in exchange for endangered Indian wildlife Dear Mr. Sawhney, Thank for your message dated 22/03/2007 on the above mentioned subject. We do not have information on the proposed trade that you refer to. We have therefore shared your message with the Management Authorities of India and Thailand. Unless we receive evidence that the proposed trade is not in accordance with the Convention and relevant national legislation, we have no cause to take any action on this matter. Thank you for your message and for your support of the CITES. Yours sincerely Marcos Silva Senior Capacity Building Officer (Training) CITES Secretariat United Nations Environment Programme Chemin des Anémones, CH-1219 Chatelaine Geneva, Switzerland Tel.: (41 22) 917-8120 Fax: (41 22) 797-3417 E-mail: marcos.silva URL: http://www.cites.org ----- Forwarded by INFO-CITES/UNEP/GVA/UNO on 22/03/2007 12:18 PM " Anuradha Sawhney " <anuradhas 22/03/2007 12:12 PM To <info cc Subject Orangutans coming to India from Thailand in exchange for endangered Indian wildlife Dear Sir, We are writing to you from People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) India to share our concern about the proposal of the Thailand Zoological Park Organisation to send five orang-utans to the Assam state zoo in the North east of India in exchange for an endangered Indian Rhino. How can Thailand send Orangutans that have been stolen from another country and that country is demanding their return? They also plan to send two clouded leopards, one stump-tailed macaque and three binturongs to this same zoo. There is international concern about this exchange and we hope that CITES will ask some questions of Thai authorities. We await your response. Sincerely, Anuradha Sawhney Chief functionary PETA India --\ ---------------------- The Assam Thai Zoo swap ( Archives ) Following is the response from CITES to a letter from Shirley McGreal of IPPL with regards to the zoo swap in 2005: " John Sellar " <john.sellar Add to Contacts Tue, Aug 30 2005 3:12:43 PM +0200 Cc: " azam siddiqui " <azamsiddiqui Dear Ms McGreal, The CITES Management Authority of Thailand has advised me that there has been no application to export orangutans from Thailand Zoological Park . Yours sincerely, John M. Sellar Anti-smuggling, Fraud and Organized Crime/La lutte contre la contrebande, la fraude et le crime organisé/Anticontrabando, fraude y delincuencia organizada CITES Secretariat/Secretaría CITES/Secrétariat CITES International Environment House Chemin des Anémones 1219 Châtelaine - Geneva Switzerland/Suiza/Suisse tel. (+4122) 917 8139 tel (+4122) 917 8293 (direct) fax (+4122) 797 3417 email: john.sellar CITES Secretariat Web site: www.cites.org The information contained in this message may be confidential, and is intended only for the use of the individual or organization named above. If the reader of this message is not the intended recipient, please notify the Secretariat as soon as possible. -------- Shirley McGreal [smcgreal] Monday, August 01, 2005 3:35 PM John Sellar Cc: azam siddiqui RE: Thailand planning to swap orangutans for rare Indian wildlife Mr. Sellar, it looks like Thailand is using some of its stolen orangutans as " trading cards " to obtain rare wildlife from remote northeastern India. How can Thailand trade stolen orangutans when the Government of Indonesia has requested their return? This message is being copied to concerned groups active in Assam who initially contacted IPPL about this situation. I hope that CITES can ask some questions of Thai authorities. Shirley McGreal Link: http://www.telegraphindia.com/1050730/asp/guwahati/story_5050818.asp Assam Zoo plans animal swap July 29: The Assam State Zoo will receive chimpanzees and orang-utans from Thailand Zoological Park in exchange of a male rhino if the discussions held today receive the Central Zoo Authority's seal of approval. Officials of the state forest department and the Thailand Zoological Park Organisation today agreed to exchange the animals in a meeting at the Assam State Zoo. Besides three chimpanzees and two orang-utans, Thailand has also agreed to give one female clouded leopard, three binturongs (bearcat), one pig-tailed macaque and two female stumped macaques all Schedule I animals. Assam chief wildlife warden M.C. Malakar, who attended the meeting, said the state forest department is waiting for the final nod on the exchange plan from the Central Zoo Authority in New Delhi. Malakar and the Thai delegates have already met their officials. Sources said the final clearance might take some time as several aspects, such as health of the animals, need to be considered. Once the green signal comes through, the two sides will chalk out the modalities and sign a memorandum of understanding. The representatives also discussed wildlife conservation in their respective countries and the support received from their governments. The Thai team agreed to provide technical training in designing zoo enclosures and in other areas of wildlife conservation. A conservation programme on common species of Assam and Thailand is also on the cards. Led by its director-general Sophan Dumnoi, the Thailand Zoological Park Organisation team comprises Suriya Sangpong, Thanapat Pongtamon, Kravee Kreethapon and Ratna Kumar Duraisingam. Dr. Shirley McGreal, Chairwoman International Primate Protection League PO Box 766 Summerville, SC 29484, USA Phone - 843-871-2280, Fax- 843-871-7988 E-mail - smcgreal, Web: www.ippl.org --- Finally may I once again request you all to write to the following authorities with regards to the proposed Zoo swap considering your experiences in Thai, Indonesian and Indian Zoo conditions and animal exchanges. With the information that is creeping in it certainly does not seem that this particular deal is healthy. Write to: 1. The Secretary Government of India, Ministry of Environment & Forests Paryavaran Bhavan, CGO Complex, Lodhi Road New Delhi - 110 003. (INDIA). Telephone:+91-11-24361147 E-mail: envisect 2. The Member Secretary , Central Zoo Authority Annexe-VI, Bikaner House, Shahjahan Road, New Delhi-110011 Phone # 91-011-23381585,23073072,23070375 Fax # 91-011-23386012 cza NEW!!! cza 3. All Thai embassy contacts in India here: http://www.thaiemb.org.in/community/thai_government_agencies.asp Royal Thai Embassy, New Delhi Email : thaidel Mr. Wanna Pherngmak , Royal Thai Consulate-General , Kolkata Email: thaiccu Miss Madurapochana Ittarong , Royal Thai Consulate-General , Mumbai , thaimub Mr. Suphot Yanthukij , Royal Thai Consulate-General, Chennai , thaicnn http://www.thaiembassy.org/ Regards, Azam Siddiqui Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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