Hi All--- Here's a one up from the latest HerpDigest:
>In a message dated 10/6/04 12:35:05 AM Pacific Daylight Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] >writes: > > >9) nbsp;Thai Airways Started Embargo in February of Wildlife or Wildlife Parts From >Malysia, Except For Turtles. >By Elizabeth John , Malaysiaâs New Strait Times, 9/29/04 > >Thai Airways will no longer carry cargoes of wildlife or wildlife parts from >Malaysia. The airline imposed the embargo in February, said the airline's secretary >of Cargo and Mail Sales, Buranee Boonyatap. >She said the embargo was enforced after Thai authorities seized hundreds of pangolins >from Malaysia at the Don Muang International Airport last November. The 509 pangolins >packed in 102 crates were in transit in Thailand when they were discovered. >According to news reports, the boxes from Malaysia were destined for Laos, from where >they would be sent to China. >Just a week earlier, Thai authorities had seized another 288 pangolins from Malaysia, >believed to be bound for China, at the same airport's cargo terminal. >Asian pangolins are listed on Appendix II of Convention on International Trade in >Endangered Species (CITES), which ordinarily means they can be traded to limits that >will not affect the survival of wild populations. >However, high volumes of largely unregulated trade, including illegal shipments in >the 1990s, led all CITES parties to adopt a "zero quota" on Asian pangolins, which in >effect banned all international trade. >Thus, all trade in Asian pangolins has been illegal since 2000. >In Malaysia, pangolins are a totally protected species under the Protection of >Wildlife Act 1972. >Buranee, who confirmed the Thai Airways decision in a telephone interview from >Bangkok, also said that the only wildlife excluded from the embargo were turtles. >She said the airline had regularly carried cargoes of wildlife from Malaysia before >the embargo but could not confirm the quantity or species of wildlife. >In an immediate response, National Parks and Wildlife Department enforcement director >Misliah Mohamad Bashir said that she would raise the issue at a meeting of all >enforcement agencies stationed at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport on Thursday. >Misliah said the department was aware of attempts to smuggle pangolins and was >working to curb the problem. >Yesterday, the department raided a slaughterhouse in Padang Serai in Kedah and found >800 pangolins, most of them dead, ready for shipment. >Pangolin meat, scales and blood are in high demand for use in Chinese traditional >medicines. >The meat can be sold for RM50-RM60 per kg. >_______________________________________________________________________ -- Northwest Captive Breeders' Show: Oct. 23-24! Puyallup Fairgrounds Â(near Seattle & Tacoma) Elizabeth _______________________________________________ Global Gecko Association http://www.gekkota.com Classifieds http://www.gekkota.com/cgi-gekkota/classifieds.cgi gecko mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://lists.gekkota.com/mailman/listinfo/gecko
