I recently spent 2 days in Nong Kai and Bueng Kan provinces in NE Thailand meeting the new commander of the Royal Thai Navy’s Mekong River Unit (MRU).
The MRU was established many years ago, charged with securing Thailand’s border with Laos. A border 850 kilometers long. Much of the MRU’s work is concerned with preventing smuggling of drugs and animals as well as preventing human trafficking
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But, the challenges the MRU faces are enormous.
The purpose of the meeting was to discuss closer cooperation between the MRU and Soi Dog’s suppression teams, particularly the sharing of intelligence.
The commander cited corruption as the biggest problem. It is widespread in the region. Tackling corruption is extremely difficult as officers are part of the community where they live and must sometimes look the other way. If they don’t, then there is a danger to their families.
The second biggest problem is the power of the main figures who control the smuggling. They are very wealthy, powerful people and recruit large numbers of locals to act as watchers when operations are underway. Any sighting of law enforcement agencies or the military are rapidly given to the smugglers who simply abandon the operation. All smugglers have to go through the principal figures who arrange everything on both sides of the border and deal directly with the buyers from Vietnam and China.
The other big issue is the border itself. There are countless possible crossing places both legal and illegal. Local people cross the river constantly by boat, transporting goods from one side to the other with no checks being made in most cases.
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The issue was brought home very clearly when visiting a known crossing point where we came upon a smuggling operation in progress. It was 6pm. As we drove down a rough road towards the river we saw a man standing alone at the side of the track. His car was parked just off the road in a makeshift layby. As we passed he immediately reached for his phone. The MRU officer acting as our guide told the driver to hurry, and pulled out his revolver. On reaching the river, we could clearly see a boat around 100 meters from the shore. Many men were in the boat, together with large ice bins.
At the side of the track covered with grass were large chunks of ice. On examination traces of fluid could be seen and the smell was quite strong. The MRU officer advised that they discarded the ice to make the bins lighter for getting down the riverbank. In this instance he was confident that the bins would have contained the carcasses and parts of illegal wildlife, probably tiger or bear.
We drove around 2 kilometers down another road to a second crossing point, passing yet another obvious spotter on the way. With binoculars we watched a boat, which after making a direct crossing to the Laos side proceeded to a makeshift pier, where in the fading light flashing signals were made to the boat. Behind the pier was a building known to be a holding place for illegal wildlife and timber. The officer was extremely frustrated as he knew that 5 minutes sooner we would have at least have been able to intercept the cargo, assuming the men themselves were not armed which is common. Only last month an MRU officer was shot whilst trying to intercept a shipment.
The commander is currently trying to put together a trusted team and recruit more agents to work for them instead of for the smugglers in much the same way that Soi Dog’s suppression unit operates.
The problems are huge and we discussed ways in which we could cooperate. Specialised equipment such as night vision goggles are beyond their budget and we also discussed the value of having large permanent billboards in the region advertising rewards and warning smugglers of penalties similar to ones erected on the Laos/Vietnam border.
We are also sharing intelligence information with TRAFFIC, the leading non-governmental organization working globally on trade in wild animals and plants.
Our main agent in Laos has identified 2 known holding areas for dogs, and advised that 30 dogs in one such holding area left yesterday. Our current plan is to place an agent in Lak Sao, Laos which also has a holding area and is close to the Vietnam border as well as an agent in Vietnam. The object being to get evidence that dogs are still crossing the Vietnam border in contravention of a memo of understanding between the respective governments. The Vietnamese Department of Animal Health deny that dogs are entering Vietnam from Laos.
There is no doubt that the number of dogs being smuggled is now far lower than previously. This thanks to your support, the efforts of our suppression team and stronger laws now in place. The trade is now much smaller, but it is also covert and difficult to fight.
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Gone are the days when sites such as this were a common occurrence. The number of dogs making the one-way trip to the dinner tables of Hanoi has dropped to a trickle.
Dogs are now generally smuggled by local people, one or two at a time and then collected at holding centers in Laos. Only occasionally are larger numbers smuggled and large trucks containing hundreds of dogs are no longer seen at all. Although numbers are far fewer than before we are determined to wipe this trade out.
One dog falling victim to the dog meat trade is one dog too many.
If we can also disrupt the far more profitable trade in wildlife, drugs, timber and even human trafficking that occurs here that will be a bonus. A truckload of illegal rosewood is worth in excess of one million dollars, so is not difficult to understand the incentive for local people to be involved.
Although the profit from dogs is much less, a local Laos can make the equivalent of a month’s income from smuggling one dog across the river.
Thank you for helping bring this insidious cruelty to an end.
My heartfelt thanks to those of you who are helping to end this evil trade. Without you ending the trade would not be possible.
Fighting the dog traders is expensive as is caring for the thousands of dogs rescued. If you would like to join us in bringing the trade to an end you can do so by clicking here.
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Stop Tiger Farming in China
Tiger bone wine, made by marinating bones in rice alcohol; tiger-skin rugs; authentic stuffed animals; dinner parties where people watch a tiger get killed and butchered. These are just some of the ways the “luxury” tiger parts industry has made a comeback in China. And it is all thanks to the many tiger farms that have cropped up in the country.
Under global pressure, China banned the trade of tiger bone in 1993. But the very same year, the first domesticated tiger farm was established, and there are now 200 government-supported farms, with 5,000 to 6,000 tigers on them — compared with only 3,000 tigers left in the wild.
The government insists these farms are just tourist spots, where people can watch shows and pet cubs, but international probes have uncovered that China’s State Forestry Administration quietly supports the country’s tiger bone wine industry.
The Chinese government is currently reviewing the wildlife law that allows for tiger farms, so we must put international pressure on them to ban these farms now. If they don’t, the wild tiger may not survive another generation.
Despite the government’s claims, captive tigers do not help wild populations. All the tiger farming industry has served to do is rekindle China’s taste for tiger parts, which has made wild tiger poaching more lucrative because it is cheaper to kill wild tigers and smuggle parts across borders than to raise captive-bred ones, and wild cats are often preferred by consumers.
Right now, wild tigers are dying in record numbers, due mainly to poaching to satisfy demand from China. If we do not do everything in our power to end poaching, wild tigers may be extinct as soon as 2022, in just seven years. Ironically, that is also the next Chinese calendar year of the tiger.
Please join me in calling on the government of the People’s Republic of China to do what’s right, amend its wildlife law, and ban tiger farms altogether.
Click Here To Help Out!
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