Special teams seize elephants, check forest land

Meanwhile, another team, known as the ‘White Shark’, launched an investigation into encroachment on a vast area of mangroves in Phuket.
The ‘King of the Tigers’ taskforce led by Chaiwat Limlikit-aksorn checked the zoo in Hua Hin’s Tambon Hin Lek Fai. They found 11 elephants but two did not have correct ID forms.
One, called Plai Bun, was four years old, but had a document that said it was 10 years old. The form also said the elephant had five front nails and four back nails but the elephant had only four nails on both front and back legs. It also did not have a hole on its ear lobe, as described in the ID form.
The officials also seized Plai Moss, 17, which has ivory tusks – while its ID form said it had no tusks.
The officials also suspected that the zoo did not have complete and necessary documents to possess other wild animals such as tigers and bears. They said it had only a licence to operate the zoo but not documents to prove that the state had been notified about its possession of wildlife.
Operators of the zoo were given time to bring the documents to officials, but told if they cannot do that some wildlife would be confiscated.
Meanwhile, the “White Shark” taskforce mustered 200 officials to check several plots in Phuket. They said that more than 2,200 rai of mangrove and coastal forest appeared to have been encroached upon. The officials estimated that seizure of the land – alleged encroachment on mangrove forest cost the state Bt250 million.
The officials were split into eight teams led by Pongsapak Hiabsakul, director of the Coastal and Mangrove Forests Conservation Division, to carry out the operation, which started yesterday and would run till Tuesday.
They suspect about 82 rai of a golf course encroached upon mangrove forest land. Operators of the golf course reportedly showed the officials land-title deeds for 801 rai. The officials plan to check the title deeds with state title deeds and have yet to press any charges, pending further investigation.
One of the plots the team checked was a prawn farm on 400 rai in Talang district. Representatives of a private company showed the officials land-title deeds, which will also be checked.
Sakda Wichiansil, deputy director-general of the Department of Marine and Coastal Resources, said in 1961 Phuket had 21,021 rai of mangrove forest, yet satellite pictures showed that only 13,446 rai of such forest was left.
He said the province that faced the most encroachment on mangrove forests was Samut Sakhon with 126,000 rai allegedly taken illegally, followed by Phetchaburi (35,200 rai), Samut Songkram (14,600 rai), and Phang Nga (3,680 rai). Most were taken for agricultural purposes.
The department set a target this year to get 15,000 rai of mangrove and coastal forests back from people who illegally seized the land. So far, it has been able to retrieve 10,694 rai, while a further 4,306 rai will be checked this year, Sakda said.
On Friday, the government decided for the first time to list cases concerning wildlife smuggling, forest encroachment, and illegal logging as special cases that will be pursued under Department of Special Investigation laws, in order to keep up with criminal gangs and “influential figures”.