This information has been received directly from Sandi Thompson, the United States contact person for the Wildlife friend Foundation Thailand.
February17TH, 2012 Petchaburi, Thailand. Today and for the past several days armed Thai officials have laid siege to two widely respected wildlife sanctuaries in Thailand. The raids have impacted Wildlife Friends Foundation Thailand (WFFT) and Elephant Nature Park (ENP) in an apparent attempt to silence the park’s Founders efforts to curtail poaching of elephants.
Both WFFT and ENP appear to have been targeted for speaking out on the recent elephant killings at Kaengkrachan National Park and Kuiburi National Park, and the involvement of Thai officials, politicians and wealthy businessmen.
According to WFFT Founder, Edwin Wiek the raids have occurred in response to his efforts to raise awareness about elephant poaching in Thailand, a practice that results in orphaned young elephants being sold to tourism facilities that offer elephant rides.
'The situation is desperate', says Mr. Wiek. 'Armed Department of National Parks enforcement officers have forced their way onto our properties and have begun confiscating animals. They claim we don’t have necessary paperwork but this is a lie.' Mr. Wiek continues. 'I’m horrified that innocent animals are now paying the price for my commitment to preventing illegal poaching. The DNP personnel are not properly trained or prepared to move or manage the animals we have in our facility and many are likely to be injured or killed as a result of these unjust actions. Further, the last time DNP confiscated animals they were never seen again.'
According to the DNP, the raids are being conducted as the result of an anonymous phone call, however they have failed to provide additional details about their plans for the animals or the specific reasons for the confiscation of the animals from the preserves.
According to Sandi Thompson, a nationally recognized animal trainer who has spent time at WFFT – most recently to aid in the rescue of dogs and other animals displaced by floods in Bangkok last year – these parks provide essential rescue and rehabilitation services for threatened, endangered and displaced animals in Thailand. Both facilities are highly respected in Thailand and throughout the world. 'The actions of the Thai officials appear to be financially and politically motivated and have nothing to do with the safety, security or welfare of the animals housed at either facility,' she says.
At this time, Ms. Thompson and Mr. Wiek, along with numerous volunteers and benefactors of these sanctuaries are calling on the Thai government to immediately stop the seizures, return the animals and exercise due process with full disclosure as to the reasons for the raids and the plans for animals that may be seized in the event that any illegal actions on the part of either facility are discovered.
For additional information and context, please see the links below:
Videos of the raid: ttp://www.youtube.com/user/LaureneWFFT/feed
Website with photos and videos of the raid: http://www.wix.com/anoelle45/wffthelp#!urgent
Recent article on the raid: http://tradingplacesglobal.wordpress.com/2012/02/15/wildlife-in-peril-in-thailand
Links to original articles on elephant killings: http://www.wfft.org/elephants/the-unlikely-tale-of-the-two-dead-elephants/,
http://www.wfft.org/wildlife-trade/recent-attacks-on-ngos-in-thailand
http://www.wfft.org/uncategorized/phukets-baby-elephants-under-investigation-phuket-gazette
Link to petition that has over 10,000 signatures from all over the world at the time of writing: http://www.thepetitionsite.com/2/urgent-plea-for-rescued-thai-wildlife/
Up to the minute details of raid: https://www.facebook.com/WildlifeFriendsFoundation
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