The transfer of eight Asian elephants to Australian zoos was in limbo yesterday after animal rights activists prevented trucks from carrying the animals to Bangkok's airport, arguing that they would suffer abroad.
At least two rights activists blocked the trucks late on Monday, stopping them from leaving a quarantine station in the western Thai province of Kanchanaburi. The standoff continued yesterday, with about 15 villagers including children as young as five years mingling outside the station and the elephants still in cages on the trucks.
A sign hanging outside the station read "Stop Exploiting Thai Elephants."
"We want to teach our children that our natural resources are important and we have to take care of them," said Rajani Dhongchai, a school principal at the protest.
"Elephants are part of the forest's life. If anything is missing from this circle, the forest will not be rich."
Soraida Salwala, founder of the Thai group Friends of the Asian Elephant, said the protesters were concerned about the elephants' welfare. They claim the animals -- who will be part of a captive breeding program in Australia -- will suffer in the confines of the zoos and that the program won't help conserve the species.
Soraida said she would withdraw if the elephants were put back in their stables and the Thai government discussed the issue with the activists.
"I don't want to see elephants in distress," she said. "They shouldn't have done this in the first place."
The authorities had planned to fly the elephants to a temporary home in Australia's Cocos islands where they were to be quarantined for three months.
Australian officials said they were "perplexed" by the actions of the protesters since the two governments had signed agreements in 2004 clearing the way for the transfer.
"I am perplexed and surprised that this would happen, given that we had complete agreement between our governments and have been so fully committed to our long-term relationship to contribute to vital wildlife conservation projects in Thailand," Guy Cooper, head of the Consortium of Australasian Zoos, said in a statement.
"We have at all times acted with deference and respect for Thai laws, culture and heritage," he continued. "We have been most conscientious in ensuring that the entire project has met with all of the requirements of Thai and international authorities."
Lisa Keen, a communications manager for Sydney's Taronga Zoo, which was preparing to receive some of the elephants from Thailand, said officials "are a bit at a loss how to resolve this."
‘IN A DIFFERENT PLACE’: The envoy first visited Shanghai, where he attended a Chinese basketball playoff match, and is to meet top officials in Beijing tomorrow US Secretary of State Antony Blinken yesterday arrived in China on his second visit in a year as the US ramps up pressure on its rival over its support for Russia while also seeking to manage tensions with Beijing. The US diplomat tomorrow is to meet China’s top brass in Beijing, where he is also expected to plead for restraint as Taiwan inaugurates president-elect William Lai (賴清德), and to raise US concerns on Chinese trade practices. However, Blinken is also seeking to stabilize ties, with tensions between the world’s two largest economies easing since his previous visit in June last year. At the
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
Beijing is continuing to commit genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in its western Xinjiang province, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a report published on Monday, ahead of his planned visit to China this week. The State Department’s annual human rights report, which documents abuses recorded all over the world during the previous calendar year, repeated language from previous years on the treatment of Muslims in Xinjiang, but the publication raises the issue ahead of delicate talks, including on the war in Ukraine and global trade, between the top U.S. diplomat and Chinese