DNP set to build DNA database for wildlife
The National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation Department (DNP) invited the press to its wildlife forensic lab yesterday to demonstrate its accountability and transparency in wildlife forensic investigation in a move to counter the strong opposition of elephant owners.
Kanita Ouithavorn, chief of the department’s Wildlife Forensic Science Unit, said the unit’s mission is to gather the DNA of wildlife in the country and keep the data in a bank as well as develop a database to crosscheck and verify the gene characteristics and species.
Over the past few years, it has expanded its work in wildlife forensic investigation to help in legal proceedings against wildlife crimes by providing objective and scientific proof. This work has become increasingly important in the legal process and is acknowledged in court, she claimed.
The unit has also been working on developing a DNA database for domesticated elephants, which has long been a problem due to a loophole in identifying and verifying the animals’ origins.
At least 16 DNA markings are made to help identify the genetic characteristics of each elephant, plus 13 more to help the DNA matching with his or her expected parents.
“We want to confirm that every step of the DNA check is scientifically based using a standard set of knowledge and tools. Also our work is acknowledged by the courts,” Kanita added.
The lab was opened after some elephant owners protested against the lab results on their elephants which were confiscated by the DNP’s Phaya Suea forest crime suppression taskforce.
In a protest at the Royal Kraal in Ayutthaya province, they threatened to bring domesticated elephants from across the country to Bangkok on National Thai Elephant Day to demand that the Phaya Suea, or “Tiger King”, taskforce is disbanded.
The Phaya Suea team confiscated TG and Koh Phaya Petch in June last year from an animal show in Prachuap Khiri Khan’s Hua Hin district, only to learn later that the animals came from the kraal.
So, the team agreed with the kraal’s owners to conduct a fresh round of DNA checks on the two animals and their parents to verify their origins after learning that their identification documents were erroneous.
The latest DNA test results showed some non-correlation with the DNA in the gene bank, prompting the team to suspect some irregularities in the elephants’ identification and origin.
The conflict between the elephant camp and Phaya Suea rose when the authorities decided to register more than 3,440 domesticated elephants – almost 99 per cent of the animals’ total documented population in Thailand – for a fresh round of DNA checks to meet a deadline this month.
The DNA checks are meant to verify the animals’ origins to re-evaluate the country’s elephant population and help to close loopholes involving the illegal smuggling of wild elephants and incorrectly registered domesticated elephants.