Poaching cases will be met with harsher penalties by year-end as the National Legislative Assembly (NLA) plans to pass amendments to a wildlife protection law this year, officials said on Friday. The current law provides a maximum jail term of seven years and/or a fine of up to 100,000 baht. He also discussed the first law concerning ivory taken from elephants, which was introduced in April 2015. This allowed for hefty fines of up to 6 million baht against smugglers and others involved in the illegal ivory trade, up from just 40,000 baht before. Mr Sompong said this has helped curbed the ivory trade, deterring smugglers who view Thailand as a transit hub and gateway to lucrative markets like China.

Source: Bangkok Post February 23, 2018 23:19 UTC