Citizens hotfoot to beat ivory registration deadline
At least 300 people in Nakhon Ratchasima and 200 in Phitsanulok yesterday rushed to register their ownership of ivory tusks or other ivory items as the deadline to declare such items ended.
The Seventh Protected Areas Regional Office in Nakhon Ratchasima reported that between January 22 and April 20, a total of 1,617 people in three lower northeastern provinces (Nakhon Ratchasima, Chaiyaphum and Buri Ram) registered ivory products in their possession. They comprised of 1,210 full tusks weighing 4,329.08 kilograms, 393 partial tusks weighing 209.31 kilograms and 28,761 pieces of ivory products weighing 541.31 kilograms, the office’s forestry official Monton Tantisukchaichan said.
He warned that officials would conduct random checks on people’s ivory possessions and those who failed to register would face fines of up to Bt3 million, while those found guilty of engaging in the ivory trade would face up to three years in prison and/or a fine of Bt6 million.
The Eleventh Protected Areas Regional Office yesterday reported that 200 people from Phitsanulok, Phetchabun and Uttaradit registered ivory products, making a total of 1,286 people. The registered items comprised 1,721.02 kilograms of full-length elephant tusks, 201.883 kilograms of partial tusks and 13,738 pieces of ivory products weighing 362.643 kilograms in total.
