Has Thailand developed a taste for elephant meat?
That’s what the AP has reported. Wildlife officials told the news service that poachers are killing the animals and selling everything from trunks to genitalia for consumption. Two elephants were found dead recently in Kaeng Krachan National Park, a few hours west of Bangkok
“The poachers took away the elephants’ sex organs and trunks … for human consumption,” Damrong Phidet, director-general of Thailand’s wildlife agency, told the AP. Some meat was meant to be eaten raw like “elephant sashimi,” he said.
Poachers have historically just removed the tusks, which can be sold for one to two million baht on the black market. But now Damrong said he is seeing the disturbing trend of elephants being hunted for their meat as well.
Damrong told the AP that elephant meat is on the menu at restaurants in Phuket, but Phuket governor Tri Akradecha strongly denied the accusation in a statement to Thai media.
“The situation has come to a crisis point. The longer we allow these cruel acts to happen, the sooner they will become extinct,” Damrong said.
Ivory remains the top reasons for poaching elephants though, according to Soraida Salwala, founder of Friends of the Asian Elephant foundation.
“There’s only a handful of people who like to eat elephant meat, but once there’s demand, poachers will find it hard to resist the big money,” she cautioned.
Thailand has less than 3,000 elephants left in the wild, according to the National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation Department.
