Baby Tiger Discovered In Carry On At Thai Airport

Bangkok (Aug 27) – In an attempt to smuggle a baby tiger out of the Bangkok International airport, a female Thai national’s baggage scan revealed not only a stuffed toy tiger, but the live baby tiger inside her carry on bag.

Drugged, the baby tiger, laying beside the stuffed toy was revealed by an x-ray scan. The tiger cub, approximately three months old, was rescued and transported to a Bangkok wildlife conservation center.

Dehydrated, exhausted, and unable to walk, the wildlife conservation center focused on giving the baby tiger water, oxygen, and lactation. Monitored closely, it appears the cub will survive.

Piyawan Palasarn, age 31, can be sentenced to up to four years in prison and fined $1300 in connection with this smuggling attempt. Palasarn denies the luggage was hers, claiming another passenger asked her to carry the bag onto the plane.

Unfortunately, the Iranian black market pays approximately 100,000 baht, the equivalent of $3,200, for “exotic pets”. It is unknown what Palasarn’s intentions were in connection to the attempted smuggling.

Asia’s tigers, in terms of numbers, have been falling for the past several years. Loss of habitat and poachers selling body parts and animal skins, primarily in China, are heavily responsible for this wildlife disaster.

Bangkok authorities and government need to step up their vigilance to ensure the elimination of illegal wildlife trafficking. Currently, those caught smuggling wildlife receive less than four years jail time. The Thai Wildlife Protection Department is trying to change the law and increase prison time to ten years.

By: T. Cahill – WorldNewsVine

Posted by on August 27, 2010. Filed under International News,WorldNewsVine. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.