Friday 25 April 2008

"Dealers stated openly that many specimens were smuggled into and out of Thailand," said Chris Shepherd, senior programme officer for TRAFFIC Southeast Asia, the wildlife trade monitoring network which is a joint programme of WWF and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

"They even offered potential buyers advice on how to smuggle reptiles through customs and onto aeroplanes," he added.

Surveys of Chatuchak Market by TRAFFIC investigators found that 25 out of 27 freshwater turtles and tortoises species for sale were non-native, the vast majority of them illegally imported into the country.

The most commonly observed species at the market was the radiated tortoise which is endemic (only occurs in the wild) in Madagascar.

Commercial international trade in the radiated tortoise is prohibited under the wildlife treaty CITES (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of wild fauna and flora).

Of the total of 786 freshwater turtles and tortoises on sale, trade was prohibited under CITES in more than a third - 285 - of these.

Smuggling endangered species

Buyers from other parts of Asia, particularly Japan, Malaysia and Singapore, are known to purchase and smuggle home large numbers of freshwater turtles and tortoises from the dealers in Chatuchak Market for sale in their respective countries.

Dealers were heard urging potential buyers to purchase the most endangered species because of their rarity value.

"It is a sad day when people use a species's risk of extinction as a selling point," said Dr Jane Smart, head of IUCN's Species Programme.

"We urge governments and law enforcement agencies use the information contained in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species to stop this kind of behaviour before it is too late," she said.

Police raid

Following disclosure of the report's findings, the Royal Thai Police raided Chatuchak Market earlier this month and seized a wide variety of illegal wildlife, including 18 radiated tortoises and three ploughshare tortoises

The ploughshare is considered the world's rarest tortoise - and all international trade is prohibited.

"The Thai authorities must continue these efforts to stem the illegal trade in these endangered species - as should other governments and their enforcement authorities. This illegal trade in freshwater turtles and tortoises is well organised, and must be tackled in an organised fashion," said Dr Susan Lieberman, director of the WWF International Species Programme.

The report recommends amending current national legislation to close loopholes relating to the possession of CITES-listed species. It also encourages enforcement authorities at international border crossings to be more vigilant in preventing the trade in prohibited species through Thailand, and recommends increased co-operation with other relevant countries to crack down on the highly organised illegal pet freshwater turtle and tortoise trade.

The full report - Pet freshwater turtle and tortoise trade in Chatuchak Market, Bangkok, Thailand - can be downloaded at from the TRAFFIC website