Help Stop Illegal Wildlife Trafficking

The Wildlife Rapid Rescue Team (WRRT) was extremely successful in the second quarter of 2017, doubling the number of live animals rescued and released and doubling the number of confiscated wildlife meat from the first quarter of the year. Since its development in 2001, the WRRT has intercepted up to 75% of illegal wildlife trade in Cambodia. These operations have amassed to the rescue of around 70,000 live animals and the confiscation of over 30 tons of wildlife products. The team is tirelessly working to protect animals from becoming pets, trophies, clothing, and medicine. Traders are now aware that imprisonment and hefty fines are likely consequences of their illegal profession and that they should seriously reconsider their actions, especially if they plan on exploiting endangered species, as the trading of endangered animals results in the maximum fine and possible imprisonment.

The WRRT does not only focus on the first stages of wildlife trade, but infiltratesevery party on the supply chain, from poachers to buyers. In June, the WRRT was informed of suspected wildlife meat being stored in a cooler outside of a restaurant. While there was little wildlife meat for sale in the restaurant, the WRRT continued to search around the neighboring land for anything incriminating. This determined search led to the discovery of two black bear legs. With the declining population of Asiatic black bears and their official classification as Endangered, the WRRT imposed the maximum fine of $17,750 and advocated for a prison sentence for the restaurant owner.

Another successful operation that stemmed from the help of an informant took place at a trader’s home located between Kratie and Stung Treng. After receiving a tip of a possible location of illegal activity, the WRRT raided the suspect’s house and caught him in the act of cutting up wildlife meat to add to his 150 kg collection of wild pig, sambar, muntjac, and monitor lizard meat. The trader was arrested and fined $1,764. These two cases are examples of the many operations the WRRT executed in recent months that owe their success to the Wildlife Alliance Wildlife Hotline. The hotline allows civilians and WRRT informants to report suspicious activities that otherwise probably would not have come to light.

Thank you for helping the WRRT disrupt the illegal wildlife trade and rescue thousands of live animals. 

The 24-hour Wildlife Alliance Hotline continues to prove to be a successful way of obtaining leads for illegal wildlife trafficking investigations. Last quarter the Wildlife Rapid Rescue Team (WRRT) received a total of 515 phone calls, of which 303 came from the team’s informant network, 30 from local Forestry Administration offices asking for their assistance and 182 from both Cambodian citizens and foreign visitors.

Thanks to the hotline, on January 16^th the WRRT responded to a call from a civilian that informed them of where four peafowl were located in Sangkat Stung Meanchey in Phnom Penh. Sadly, one had already been shot dead by a man with a slingshot, who has since been apprehended and fined. The other three peafowl were rescued and brought to Phnom Tamao Wildlife Rescue Center for a health assessment before they were released. Green peafowl are on the IUCN Red List as “Endangered” due to over hunting for their meat and feathers, collection of their eggs and chicks, and habitat loss. Thanks to Wildlife Alliance’s Wildlife Hotline and the WRRT, three of these beautiful and rare birds will be able to live in the wild and will not succumb to the fate of so many others of their species.

Another great success thanks to the hotline stopped a Vietnamese trafficker in a remote village in Prey Veng through an informant tip. A small group of WRRT members immediately took action by getting ahead of the suspect on his route back to Vietnam and waited for him to cross their path. When he appeared on the long and narrow village road on his motorbike, a WRRT member ambushed the suspect and immediately confiscated his cell phone.  As expected, the motorbike was fully loaded with wildlife. Acting quickly, the WRRT transported the offender, his motorbike, and the wildlife to the Forestry Administration office 20 kilometers away. In this encounter, the WRRT confiscated 97 spotted doves, 31 red collared doves and a rat snake as well as the offender’s motorbike. Due to the “agreement of solidarity” between Cambodian and Vietnamese boarder provinces, Cambodian police asked for no action to be taken against the Vietnamese wildlife trafficker. This was not accepted by the WRRT and the offender was charged and paid a $476 fine based on the Forestry Law concerning the illegal trade of common species.

Thanks to the hotline and other means, the WRRT rescued 671 live animals, released 546 animals and apprehended 28 traders in the first quarter of 2017.

Thank you for helping the Wildlife Rapid Rescue team rescue thousands of animals through your support and donations!

The WRRT is a Forestry Administration law enforcement unit led by the Forestry Administration, in cooperation with the Military Police, with technical and financial support from the Wildlife Alliance.