On the Trail - Robin des Bois

FAMILY AFFAIRS
Seizure of 7 pieces of tusks (over 19 kg)
Lambarene Province Middle Ogooué Gabon
August 19, 2013
Another ivory hotshot was arrested in Gabon. Zico,
Lambaréné city councillor, worked in ivory trafficking
in family with his wife and son. It shone in the
province of Middle Ogowe and neighboring provinces.
Zico is the third major trafficker arrested in
the region in August, after Minvoul imam and his
accomplices and Rodrigue Messimo alias Obama.
Wildlife services and Conservation Justice NGO
remind at this occasion that it is forbidden to hunt,
capture, hold, carry and sell all or part of the animal
species receiving the highest protection status as
does the elephant.
© Conservation Justice
Seizure of 26 elephants
Provinces of Trat, Phang Nga, Phuket, Krabi and
Chonburi, Thailand
August 19 to 23, 2013
Tourists just love to ride the backs of elephants
in south Thailand. An uncertain number of elephants
were caught from the wild in neighboring
countries, Myanmar especially, then tamed. Preferably,
it is a custom to capture baby elephants who
are easier to tame. They present a double economical
advantage as they consume less feed and are
well appreciated by children. After several years of
domestication, they are presented to local authorities
under false certificates proving their origin. 4
000 elephants are exploited by the tourist industry
in Thailand. Only a few hundred still live in the wild.
Control operations led this summer Thai authorities
as camps were filling up with European tourists
was a cause of discontent for the owners. The
elephant Phunzup is an exceptional case. This exwild
elephant around fifty years old was declared a
domesticated elephant in a camp in Najomtien in
the District of Pattaya. After his capture probably
in the Province of Chaiyaphum, he was sold for
approximately US$ 13,000. Phunzup’s mahout and
the 2 owners were arrested. They had borrowed
money from the family and promised to hire 2 of
its members in the camp in exchange for the load.
The deal dates back 7 years and there is now a warrant
of arrest against the seller. By Thailand’s law it
is forbidden to capture elephants from their natural
environment for recreational use.
Phunzup © pattayamail
Poaching of an elephant
Sipakuda, State of Odisha, India
August 20, 2013
The elephant was 30 years old. The forest rangers
found a piece of tusk near the carcass. He had no
traces of wounds and was probably poisoned. He
could be from a group a 7 elephants who migrated
from the Chandaka Sanctuary; the 6 others has
been killed in a collision with a train in December
2012.
The Chandaka Sanctuary was founded in 1982. It
covers 172km2. It is adjacent to the town of Bhubaneswar,
capital of Odisha. It harbours 30 mammal
species. The leopard had been reintroduced
there in 1991. According to the NGO Conservation
India, in 2012, only 20 elephants were counted in
the reserve (against 80 in 2002). Proximity has generated
human/pachyderm conflicts. Many herds
have tried to seek better grounds, not always with
great success.
Seizure of 2 elephant tails, a bag made of elephant
skin, teeth, 2 shot gun cases made of
hippopotamus skin (Hippopotamidae family),
a leopard tortoise shell (Stigmochelys pardalis,
Appendix II)
Amsterdam-Schophol Airport, Province of
North-Holland, Holland
August 21, 2013
The Belgian couple was returning from their honeymoon
in Zimbabwe. It was a deadly honeymoon,
from which they brought back bulky, illegal and
seized souvenirs.
© Customs
On The Trail # 2. Robin des Bois
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