Baraza

sheryl, washington dc, on 17 Jul 2008

I just watched the entire presentation and looked through the accompanying information. I have a few comments, but first I want to remind those who are squeamish of Gretchen Wyler’s great quote: “We must not refuse to see with our eyes what they must endure with their bodies.” You must look.

1) Did you see how many clouded leopard pelts were in that one photo? One way that conservationists can tell the health of the wild clouded population is by how many pelts are for sale in black markets and the number is decreasing drastically. FYI, those pelts sell for about $100 in a Thai black market. Sounds pretty cheap for the imminent extinction of a species, doesn’t it? However, Wildlife Alliance - http://www.wildlifealliance.org - says that represents a year’s wages to the average Thai worker. What, I wonder, will they live on when all the cloudeds are gone? The Taiwanese subspecies is already extinct.

2) I appreciate the segment on moon bear farms, but the reporter caused an animal to suffer to get the story. That was unnecessary and professionally unethical. Bear bile farming in Vietnam and China is pretty well documented, he could’ve got his information another way.

3) Why on earth are the Royal Forestry rangers using elephants as transportation? What message does that send? That it’s OK for us to exploit this animal but it’s not OK for you to exploit it? Do as I say not as I do? That is never effective. But I do know that Wildlife Alliance is working closely with Thai rangers so perhaps there’s hope they’ll stop exploiting the eles.

4) The penalties for poaching need to be much, much stiffer. Jail sentences and heavy fines for first-time offenders caught with poached wildlife, and shoot them on site if they’re caught in the act of poaching. That goes for corrupt officials, as well.

5) Greater publicity for wildlife crime arrests. Publish their faces in newspapers and in their neighborhoods and on the Internet so they are well known.

s.