| In total, one thousand two hundred and fifty radiated tortoises and seventy-eight primates were seized during the raid in Thailand. |
The announcement of the interception by Thai police of dozens of lemurs and more than a thousand radiated tortoises sparked widespread public outrage. This is about the misdeeds of a transnational network with links to Madagascar, prima facie.
All sources agree on one point: the forty-eight lemurs and more than a thousand radiated tortoises intercepted by the Thai authorities on May 1 came from Madagascar. According to these reports, a “transnational network” with branches in the Big Island is involved in this smuggling of endemic and endangered animals.
According to a press release from the Malagasy branch of the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF – Madagascar), this seizure was made on May 1. Six suspects were arrested during this operation. The information, however, only became known on the Big Island yesterday and quickly circulated on social networks. So far, the Malagasy authorities have not reacted. Contacted, Max Andonirina Fontaine, Minister of the Environment and Sustainable Development, indicated that his department “would hold a press briefing” on the subject today.
Publications on the sites of international entities fighting against wildlife trafficking are more explicit. A stakeholder in the joint operation which resulted in the May 1 raid, Wildlife Justice Commission, in particular, reports the existence of “an organized transnational wildlife trafficking network operating in Thailand, with extensive links across Africa, Asia and South America. This network specializes in the illegal trade in turtles, reptiles and small mammals intended as pets.
Record seizure
Obviously, this network has ramifications in the Big Island. “The two species [saisies] originate from Madagascar and constitute highly sought-after products in the global illegal pet trade market,” adds the Wildlife Justice Commission. As Simon Rafanomezantsoa, of WWF Madagascar, points out in yesterday’s press release, “The quantity seized strongly points to the existence of an organized network of traffickers.”
Still counting on the number of specimens seized, Simon Rafanomezantsoa puts forward the possibility of “the use of the sea route to take the animals out of the national territory”. Contacted on this point, among others, Ernest Lainkana Zafivanona, director general of customs, did not give a response.
According to Olivia Swaak-Goldman, executive director of the Wildlife Justice Commission, “this operation represents the largest seizure of radiated tortoises reported in Thailand and the largest in the world since 2018.” Reporting the words of the commander of the Thai division for combating crime linked to natural resources, WWF Madagascar underlines in its press release that “this is the largest seizure of wildlife in a single arrest”.
The turtles and lemurs were to be transported to Bangkok, South Korea and Taiwan. In the circle of environmental defenders in Madagascar, several questions are asked and remain unanswered. Who are behind this contraband? How did they manage to illicitly export such a large number of endemic specimens strictly protected by national and international laws? In what part of the country were they taken and how were they transported without arousing the suspicion of different entities concerned?
Where are the flaws? What will now be the State’s reaction to this matter? Will the media release from the Ministry of the Environment and Sustainable Development, planned for today, provide answers? For its part, WWF Madagascar calls for general mobilization to stem the scourge. This UN entity also highlights the need for rapid action for the repatriation and reintroduction of animals into their natural environment.
