Ang Rue Nai: The chief of Ang Rue Nai Wildlife Sanctuary joined forces with the local government and police to arrest poachers, seizing weapons and ammunition, as well as the remains of a mouse deer, a red-eared flying squirrel, and a civet.
According to Thai News Agency, Mr. Ekkachai Saendee, Chief of Khao Ang Rue Nai Wildlife Sanctuary, revealed that officers from Ang Rue Nai Wildlife Sanctuary, Chachoengsao Province, together with the administration and police, joined forces to arrest poachers in the forest area, Village 8, Khlong Takrao Subdistrict, Tha Takieb District. A large amount of evidence was seized, including a rifle with a scope, a single-barreled shotgun, bullets and shells, silencers, animal trap cameras, camouflage equipment, tree pruning equipment, and lighting.
When officials searched the fertilizer sacks, they found five carcasses of wildlife: two female small mouse deer, weighing 1 and 2 kilograms; one female red-eared flying squirrel, weighing 2 kilograms; and two female common civets, weighing 2 and 2.5 kilograms. The small mouse deer (protected wildlife number 2) and the red-eared flying squirrel (protected wildlife number 137) are protected wildlife according to the 2024 Ministerial Regulations, while the common civet is not.
The offender confessed that he hunted the animals for his own consumption. The officers therefore seized the remains of three protected wildlife as evidence. As for the remains of the common civet, permission was requested from the investigation officer to destroy them by burying them.
Such actions are considered an offense under the Wildlife Conservation and Protection Act of 2019, which prohibits hunting protected wildlife (Section 12) and possessing carcasses of protected wildlife (Section 137), as well as prohibiting entering wildlife sanctuaries without permission (Section 53), and an offense under the Firearms Act of 1947, Section 7, which prohibits possession or use of guns and ammunition without permission.
Officers informed the perpetrators of their rights and took them to the investigation officer at the Tha Takieb Police Station for legal action, and prepared to investigate and expand the investigation into any networks that may be involved.
