Illegal Wildlife trade is rampant : PM
The illegal trade in wildlife in Thailand is third only to narcotics and gun running, Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont said Wednesday.
Surayud opened the WildAid campaign against illegal animal trafficking at Bangkok's Chatuchak Weekend Market. The prime minister declared trade in wildlife a crisis destroying the Kingdom's biodiversity. Criminal trading of animals and plant life in Asia receives internaŽtional attention. Government policy aims to create a balance between conservation and sustainable use of natural resources. It prohibits the moveŽment of animals outside their natural habitat, Surayud said. United States Ambassador Ralph Boyce told the campaign launch illegal wildlife trading was a worldwide, multibillionbaht criminal activity. The threat cannot be ignored and is regarded as a transnationŽal crime which both Thailand and the US governments were working to halt, Boyce said. Washington supports the Southeast Asian illegal wildlife trade crackdown Thailand spearŽheads. The Nation
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