A tourist from Kunming, China, was caught trying to smuggle animal carcasses, including smoked bats, into Thailand on Thursday morning thanks to the keen noses of sniffer beagle doggos.
The dogs, which work for the livestock development department’s Quarantine and Inspection Canine Unit, were able to detect the smuggled animal parts inside the tourist’s luggage in the passenger terminal of Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport.
Airport officials confiscated 2.5kg of smoked bats as well as 2.5kg of smoked pork knuckles, and 4.5kg of smoked pork belly.
Smuggling animal carcasses into Thailand is considered an offense under section 31 of the Animal Epidemic Act, punishable by up to two years in prison and fines of no more than THB200,000. The confiscation of animal parts is done to prevent potential epidemic outbreaks, such as the infectious African swine fever found in pig carcasses.
The inspections mainly focus on arrivals from China, Cambodia, Laos, Taiwan, Malaysia, and Vietnam.
