Tiger cub found smuggled in woman’s luggage

AUTHORITIES at Bangkok’s international airport found a baby tiger cub that had been drugged and hidden among stuffed toy tigers in the suitcase of a woman flying from Thailand to Iran, an official and a wildlife protection group said yesterday.

The woman, a Thainational, had checked in for her flight and her oversized bag was sent for an X-ray which showed what appeared to be a live animal inside, according toTRAFFIC, a wildlife trade monitoring group.

The woman was arrested at Suvarnabhumi Airport before boarding her flight.

The cub, estimated to be about three months old, was sent to a wildlife conservation centre in Bangkok.

“The cub arrived at our unit,” said Chaiyaporn Chareesaeng, head of the Wildlife Health Unit at the Department of National Parks’ Wildlife and Plant Conservation Centre, where the animal was put under close supervision.

“He appeared exhausted, dehydrated and couldn’t walk, so we had to give him oxygen, water and lactation,” said Chaiyaporn.

“We have monitored him closely. As of today, he looks better and can walk a little now.”

A DNA test was expected to provide details about its origin, said Chaiyaporn.

The woman, identified as Piyawan Palasarn, 31, faces up to four years in prison and a €1,000 fine for two wildlife smuggling-related charges, police said.

The cub could have fetched about €2,500 on the black market in Iran, where it is popular to have exotic pets, Adisorn said.

Wildlife experts say the number of tigers in Asia have plummeted over the years due mainly to habitat loss and poachers, who sell their skins and body parts to booming medicinal and souvenir markets, mostly in China. Conservationists say the government needs to do more to eliminate trafficking networks that operate out of the country.