THAI POLICE CONFISCATE TIGER CARCASSES SMUGGLED FROM M'SIA

By D. Arul Rajoo

BANGKOK, Jan 7 (Bernama) -- Thai highway police confiscated four tiger
carcasses, believed to have been smuggled from Malaysia, in Hua Hin on Monday.

National Park, Wildlife and Plant Conservation Department chief Upai Wayupat
told the Bangkok Post daily that the carcasses would undergo genetic testing to
determine if they were domesticated or otherwise.

He said the tests, to be conducted by a team of veterinarians at Kasetsart
University's Kamphaeng Saen campus, would take up to two weeks.

"If they were captive tigers, officials will investigate which farms they
came from," said Upai, adding that breeding tigers was currently a popular
business as wildlife smugglers could fetch as much as a million baht (RM1 = 9.9
bahts) for a tiger.

Highway police seized the severed heads and carcasses of the tigers from a
truck in Hua Hin district, about three hours' drive from Bangkok.

The police believe the animals were being transported from Malaysia to
China.

According to Upai, Thailand was a major transit point for wildlife
smuggling.

According to the department's figures, there were 638 cases of illegal
wildlife trading over the past four years, resulting in 2,910 mammals, 15,940
birds, 941 reptiles and 10 fish being confiscated by the authorities.

-- BERNAMA