Zoos to be checked after tiger skins and carcasses found

A blanket inspection of tigers in zoos and other captive animals has been ordered in the wake of a fresh seizure of tiger skins and carcasses and other protected wildlife from a major smuggler at a Bangkok home.

An official from the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation (DNP) said the skinned tigers could have been obtained from one of the zoos. So, the inspection, when done, would reveal a head-count and other details of animals at all premises and likely evidence of any that had gone missing.

Deputy director-general Theeraphat Prayoonsitthi said DNA checks of tigers was not viable as an inspection measure, as only a few had been collected to date under a DNP project at Huay Kha Khaeng wildlife reserve in Kanchanaburi.

Tiger skins and carcasses along with meat from elephants, zebras and lions were found at the house. Seven suspects implicated a man known as Od Bang Kruay as the trader and smuggler behind the slaughter. They allege that he took orders from foreign buyers - to provide them with the meat and skins.

There are around one million protected or wild creatures in zoos and private enclosures in Thailand, but 80 per cent of them are birds and avian species. Around 300 zoos have permission to keep tigers and other felines.