Help Stop Illegal Wildlife Trafficking

In Cambodia, it is illegal to keep or sell any terrestrial native wildlife species as a pet – they are all protected under the Forestry Law. Recently the Wildlife Rapid Rescue Team has been busy rescuing wild animals from the pet trade, saving them from a lifetime of cramped conditions without proper care. Many of the Team’s rescues during this period were based on reports made by concerned citizens to our Wildlife Crime Hotline. Your generous donations help provide funds the Team needs to travel far and wide across the country responding to the many reports it receives, rescuing animals and releasing them into the wild or bringing them to Phnom Tamao Wildlife Rescue Centre if they need rehabilitation.

The Team rescued a total of seven leopard cats between March and May 2021. In early March, a foreigner living in Rattanakiri Province in Northeast Cambodia called the Hotline to report that he had convinced a local villager to pass our Team two baby leopard cats. A few days later the team was called to collect another pair of leopard cat kittens found abandoned near a forest fire in neighboring Mondulkiri Province by a Phnom Penh resident who rescued them while he was on holiday there. In mid-May, the Team collected another three leopard cats plus two Oriental pied hornbills and one crested serpent eagle from a conservation organization that had previously rescued them. All the animals were brought to Phnom Tamao where they will receive proper care. The kittens were young enough to still require bottle feeding and went to the special Nursery section to be hand-raised.

Raptors are being rescued in increasing numbers lately – pointing to a concerning new trend in Cambodia to keep birds of prey as pets. From May-June, a total of 19 raptors were confiscated, in addition to 33 birds of other species that are bought and sold in the pet trade. In March, the Team received information about birds being sold near Phnom Penh’s Central Market and confiscated three black kites, four black-shouldered kites and 22 red-breasted parakeets from a vendor. In April, the Team confiscated two more black-shouldered kites and five blossom-headed parakeets from a street seller in Phnom Penh (all young chicks), and then rescued a rufous-winged buzzard that was reported as being illegally kept as a pet in a Phnom Penh restaurant; two more blossom-headed parakeets were discovered when the restaurant was inspected. In May, the team caught a street seller in front of Phnom Penh airport with four brahminy kites and four white-vented hill mynas. Following reports to our Hotline’s Facebook page, the Team also confiscated a black-shouldered kite being kept as a pet on a tuk-tuk (an open carriage pulled by a motorcycle) by its driver in Phnom Penh, and in Kampot Province seized three rufous-winged buzzards from a pet-shop and a changeable hawk eagle being kept as a pet.

Wild birds become easily stressed and dehydrated when kept in captivity in inappropriate conditions as they usually are in the pet trade - this causes many of them to die, even after they are rescued. All of the birds rescued by the Team were brought to Phnom Tamao to be hand-raised and/or rehabilitated in large enclosures by keepers who know each species’ special requirements, which gives each of them the greatest chance of survival, recovery and eventual release into the wild.

Other animals rescued during this period and brought to Phnom Tamao included: an otter being kept in a small cage in a village in Kampong Chhnang Province on dry ground with no water in which to swim; two water monitor lizards confiscated from a pet shop in Phnom Penh; a great hornbill that was being kept in a private residence and was reported to the Hotline; a common palm civet and a yellow-throated marten that a member of the Team noticed were being kept as pets in small cages at a garage in Phnom Penh; and an injured jackal, which appeared to have been hit by a car, that was found along the roadside in Kratie by villagers and taken by the Team to Phnom Tamao for veterinary care.

Thank you for supporting these rescues, helping to ensure fewer wild animals suffer as pets and more are freed to live in well-protected habitat, where they belong.

The Wildlife Rapid Rescue Team operations conducted over the past year indicate that while Cambodia’s illegal wildlife trade quieted down during the early stage of the COVID-19 pandemic, local demand and supply have rebounded in recent months. The first COVID-19 case appeared in Cambodia just before Chinese New Year 2020. In late March, Cambodia’s land borders were closed to all traffic and international tourism was suspended. Many Chinese residents who had left for the holiday did not return. By May, many of the shops and restaurants that once sold wildlife products and bush meat in tourism hotspots had closed. Compared with previous years, for much of 2020 fewer restaurants and shops inspected by the Team were found to be selling illegal species or wild meat. Those that were had relatively small quantities in stock. However, in the past quarter the Team has seized both live animals and large quantities of dead wildlife, meat and parts during raids of restaurants, markets and shops across the country.

Raids on restaurants in Tbong Khmom, Kandal and Preah Sihanouk Provinces in late December 2020 yielded significant results, including saving the lives of a monocled cobra and 10 Malayan snail-eating turtles that were later able to be released into appropriate habitat. From three restaurants, a total of 19 kilos of bush meat (water monitor, Bengal monitor, red muntjac, and wild pig) were seized along with 30 dead great egrets and 154 dead water cocks.

In January 2021, the Team raided two restaurants in Siem Reap Province and confiscated 130 dead birds and 6.7kg of bushmeat. In Phnom Penh, they confiscated 13 live Malayan snail-eating turtles and 3 Asiatic softshell turtles from a restaurant whose owner was fined KHR$7,050,000 Khmer riel (almost $1720 U.S. dollars). The turtles were taken to the National Aquaculture Research and Development Institute for care before being released into their natural habitat. A few weeks later, the Team raided another capitol restaurant and confiscated 7.1kg of muntjac, wild pig, and monitor lizard meat and 80 dead birds.

In the first week of February, the Team raided two markets and five shops/restaurants selling bushmeat in Preah Sihanouk and confiscated a total of 73.9kg of wild meat from several species (wild boar, monitor lizard, peafowl, civet and red muntjac), 24 dead birds, 3 live Asian box turtles and 1 Asian leaf turtle. The following week, in collaboration with forest rangers from two Wildlife Alliance stations in the Cardamoms, the Team raided four restaurants in Koh Kong Province. Two were found to be selling bushmeat, and a total of 81.2kg of monitor lizard, civet and wild pig meat was confiscated.

Research on bushmeat consumption in Cambodia published by Fauna and Flora International in 2018 showed significant demand from urban elites who consume wildlife for a variety of reasons, including a belief that wild meat is good for their health. COVID-19 likely originated from similar viruses found in bats and pangolins being transmitted to humans through wildlife markets, which shows that wildlife consumption in fact endangers human health. While the wildlife supply in Cambodian shops seemed lower during earlier stages of the pandemic, the significant results of recent operations by the Wildlife Rapid Rescue Team clearly show that COVID-19 has not ended local demand for bush meat.

Every live animal saved from the wildlife trade and every kilo of bush meat destroyed rather than consumed reduces the risk that new zoonotic diseases will emerge – and donors like you make this vital work possible. Thank you so much for your support!

If you haven’t given recently to help stop illegal wildlife trafficking, please consider making a donation now during GlobalGiving’s Little by Little campaign. From March 8-12 all online donations up to $50 will be matched at 50%!

Links:

• Research report on bushmeat consumption in Cambodia (FFI, 2018)