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Madagascar lemurs, tortoises seized in Thai bust reveal reach of wildlife trafficking

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In May, authorities in southern Thailand arrested six people for illegally transporting 48 lemurs and more than 1,200 critically endangered tortoises, all of which had reportedly been obtained from the wild in Madagascar. The seizure is the latest in a string of illegal wildlife trade busts in Thailand. Red pandas (Ailurus fulgens), monitor lizards, snakes and parrots have been uncovered in similar incidents in the country in recent months, for instance. However, the recent seizure of so many critically endangered animals from Madagascar has alarmed experts, who say the latest bust underscores the global reach of wildlife trafficking networks using Thailand as a transshipment hub for illegally sourced wild animals and plants. “The quantity seized points strongly towards the existence of an organized network of traffickers, and the use of the sea route to move the animals out of the national territory,”   Simon Rafanomezantsoa, lead of WWF Madagascar’s antitrafficking team, said in a statement. Authorities discovered the animals caged and boxed in cramped conditions in six pickup trucks in Chumphon province on May 1. The authorities were acting on intelligence from an international investigation operating in the country to clamp down on cross-border organized wildlife crime. In total, authorities uncovered 1,234 tortoises: 357 radiated tortoises (Astrochelys radiata) and 877 spider tortoises (Pyxis arachnoides), both of which are listed as critically endangered on the IUCN Red List. Among the lemurs were 16 ring-tailed lemurs (Lemur catta) and 32 common brown lemurs (Eulemur fulvus), listed respectively as endangered and vulnerable on the…This article was originally published on Mongabay

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