A rescue was made in the nick of time when Thai police apprehended a wildlife smuggler in Bangkok, saving two infant orangutans from being sold on the black market.
What's happening?
After being apprehended at a gas station, the man was discovered hiding the orangutans in a plastic bike basket, the South China Morning Post reported.
The orangutans — named Christopher and Stefan, who were one-year-old and one-month-old, respectively — had been placed into the basket in diapers on top of a piece of cardboard.
The 47-year-old suspect told police he had been hired to transport the apes and hand them off to a customer, though he didn't share how much he had been paid to do so.
The police stated that they believe the orangutans were meant to have been sold for approximately 300,000 baht each — around $9,000.
The arrest was a result of a joint investigation between the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Wildlife Justice Commission in the Netherlands, and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, the police statement said.
The man is suspected of being part of a large, international wildlife trafficking network, which police are now investigating further. They charged the suspect with "illegal possession of protected wildlife" under Thai law, which could mean up to four years in prison.
Why is wildlife trafficking concerning?
Wildlife trafficking is a persistent and huge problem for authorities. According to Homeland Security Investigations, wildlife trafficking — including fisheries and timber — is the fourth largest global illegal trade, with billions of dollars passing through criminal networks each year.
Not only do millions of animals suffer unnecessary cruelty because of it, but the human populations responsible for the trade suffer, too.
The removal — or worse, the eradication — of any species is automatically harmful to its native ecosystem, disturbing the carefully balanced web of biodiversity that maintains its functions.
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Definitely 👍 The ripple effects can impact everything from the availability of food and water to the economic stability of a region. After all, animal losses can deplete hunting and fishing stocks that are necessary for local communities, as well as threaten the wildlife that brings in vital tourism dollars.
In a time when the health and survival of many species are already being threatened by habitat loss, dredging and overfishing, and deforestation, the addition of poaching and trafficking only makes matters worse. Orangutans, for example, are already classified as critically endangered, yet they are one of the most trafficked primates in the world.
Thailand is one of the world's major transit hubs for wildlife trafficking, connecting a black market network among China, Taiwan, and Vietnam.
What's being done to reduce wildlife trafficking?
Many government agencies and nonprofit groups are working to fight the wildlife trafficking trade on several fronts, from increasing on-site security and checkpoints — even using giant rats — to disincentivizing the market for illegally trafficked goods.
One major NGO in the space, TRAFFIC, describes its approach as aiming to "reduce illegal and unsustainable trade of wild species and increase the social, economic, and environmental benefits to people derived from legal and sustainable trade."
As a consumer, if you suspect wildlife trafficking in any form, you can find your country or region's monitoring agency to report it. (In the U.S., HSI has a tip line as well as an online form.)
Similarly, be sure to engage in only verified and ethical wildlife tourism experiences when you travel, and stay away from buying exotic pets and goods.
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