VZCZCXRO0970
RR RUEHCHI RUEHDT RUEHHM RUEHLN RUEHMA RUEHNH RUEHPB
DE RUEHBK #7146/01 3330719
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 290719Z NOV 06
FM AMEMBASSY BANGKOK
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 3202
INFO RUCNASE/ASEAN MEMBER COLLECTIVE
RUEHZN/ENVIRONMENT SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY COLLECTIVE
RUEHNE/AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI 4227
RUEHKT/AMEMBASSY KATHMANDU 7178
RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 3286
RUEHBY/AMEMBASSY CANBERRA 6354
RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO 8573
RUEHUL/AMEMBASSY SEOUL 2397
RUEHCHI/AMCONSUL CHIANG MAI 2748
RUEHCN/AMCONSUL CHENGDU 0424
RUEHGZ/AMCONSUL GUANGZHOU 3591
RUEHHK/AMCONSUL HONG KONG 2998
RUEHHM/AMCONSUL HO CHI MINH CITY 0378

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 BANGKOK 007146 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR OES/PCI/ACOVINGTON and OES/ETC/DGRIER 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: SENV AORC PREL XC
Ref: A. BANGKOK 7802(05) B. BANGKOK 3798(05) 
 
SUBJECT: ORANGUTAN ODYSSEYS IN SOUTHEAST ASIA 
 
BANGKOK 00007146  001.2 OF 003 
 
 
¶1.  Summary:  A new wildlife anti-trafficking law enforcement 
network, the ASEAN-Wildlife Enforcement Network (ASEAN-WEN) 
established by ASEAN member countries in December 2005 shows that 
governments in Southeast Asia are beginning to pay more attention to 
the multi-billion dollar illegal wildlife trade (Ref A).  However, 
the following accounts of the fate of illegally trafficked 
orangutans in Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia, and Indonesia demonstrate 
that governments in the region often still fail to take the problem 
seriously.  Although all the ASEAN countries have acceded to the 
Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), 
which bans trade in orangutans, traffickers, importers, and 
politically-connected individuals who profit from the illegal 
orangutan trade continue to flaunt their activities with impunity. 
End summary. 
 
Swift Action in Viet Nam... 
--------------------------- 
¶2.  In early July, a European couple staying at the Thanh Canh Hotel 
in Vietnam's Binh Duong Province near Ho Chi Minh City called an 
animal protection hotline run by a Vietnamese NGO, Wildlife at Risk 
(WAR), after seeing two young orangutans at a private zoo at the 
hotel.  WAR's Dao Van Hoang informed the provincial forest police, 
and early in the morning of July 11, they raided the hotel and 
confiscated the orangutans. 
 
¶3.  Vietnamese authorities immediately notified the Government of 
Indonesia, where they believed the apes had originated.  Indonesia 
sent Edwin Weik and Cheryl MacPherson of the NGO Borneo Orangutan 
Survival Foundation (BOSF) to Vietnam to inspect the animals and 
oversee their repatriation.  Dao Van Hoang told the BOSF 
representatives, "It took only two weeks since we found the 
orangutans to complete all the necessary procedures to return them. 
The swift action of the authorities is praiseworthy." 
 
...But Slow Movement in Indonesia 
--------------------------------- 
¶4.  On July 24, the animals were flown from Ho Chi Minh City to 
Jakarta.  Originally scheduled to be transported to Samboja Lestari 
Orangutan Rehabilitation Center following a required 33-day 
quarantine at facilities provided by Taman Safari International 
(TSI, a private for-profit zoo located about 50 km from Jakarta), 
four months later, the animals are still being held at the zoo.  In 
September, a consortium of international NGOs sent an open letter 
requesting the Indonesian government to immediately transfer the 
animals from TSI to the rehabilitation center. 
 
¶5.  Replying to an inquiry from Embassy Econoff on November 28, a 
BOSF representative in Jakarta said the process had been delayed due 
to lengthy administrative procedures at the Jakarta City Office of 
Natural Resource Conservation and because of the Lebaran holidays in 
October.  She expected the transfer of the orangutans to take place 
during the first week of December. 
 
¶6.  TSI generally gets high marks for its facilities and operates a 
Sumatran Tiger Breeding Center as part of a global species survival 
plan overseen by the World Conservation Union, but its website 
advertises "entertaining and educational animal shows that we offer 
highlighting... orangutans and other animals."   Schools in 
Indonesia were closed for the Lebaran holidays from October 23-29, 
but TSI has held the animals from July 24 until now, raising 
concerns about both the credibility of TSI and of Indonesia's 
commitment to orangutan repatriation efforts. 
 
¶7.  Back in Vietnam, police continue the investigation of the Thanh 
Canh Hotel owner, who has admitted that he paid the equivalent of 
USD 12,500 for the two orangutans, but charges have yet to be filed 
against him. 
 
Unprecedented Numbers Repatriated from Thailand... 
--------------------------------------------- ----- 
¶8.  In Thailand, the Department of National Parks (DNP) took custody 
of 57 orangutans from Safari World, a private, for-profit zoo in 
Bangkok, in 2003.  The owner of Safari World at first said the 
orangutans were the offspring of the nearly 100 orangutans he had 
procured legally before Thailand acceded to CITES in 1994.  Later, 
in July 2005, the Vice President of Safari World told Regional 
 
BANGKOK 00007146  002.2 OF 003 
 
 
Environmental Officer (REO) that the 57 orangutans had been given to 
the zoo by pet-owners who no longer wanted to keep them.  He said 
Safari World was performing a "public service" by taking care of the 
apes (Ref B). 
 
¶9.  Seven weeks after REO's visit, the Safari World owner admitted 
to Thai officials that he had obtained the animals illegally.  On 
the margins of the ASEAN-WEN meetings in Bangkok in April 2006, Thai 
and Indonesian officials agreed to repatriate the animals to 
Indonesia. 
 
¶10.  After several delays, repatriation finally occurred on November 
¶22.  Forty-eight apes were repatriated - an unprecedented number - 
which required expensive and complex logistics, including the use of 
an Indonesian Air Force C-130 transport plane and eight 
veterinarians who accompanied the animals on the journey from Khao 
Pratap Chang Wildlife Preserve 100 km southwest of Bangkok to Halim 
Air Force Base in Jakarta to the BOSF Nyaru Menteng Orangutan 
Rehabilitation Center on Borneo.  Upon the apes' arrival at the 
Halim airport, a welcome by First Lady Kristiani Herawati Yudhoyono, 
the Minister of Forestry, the State Minister of Environment, 
Thailand's ambassador to Indonesia, and other officials ensured 
lavish media coverage and maximum political mileage. 
 
...But Effort Marred by Ludicrous Loan of Apes to a Zoo 
--------------------------------------------- ---------- 
¶11.  Inexplicably, five of the original 57 orangutans were not 
repatriated because Thailand's DNP had "loaned" them to perform for 
patrons of the Chiang Mai Night Safari.  In addition, the remaining 
four animals are reported to have died while in official custody at 
Khao Pratap Chang Wildlife Preserve since October 2005. 
 
¶12.  On November 21, the deputy director of the Night Safari told 
the Bangkok Post that the apes would be sent to Khao Pratap Chang 
the following day.  On November 27, however, the DNP confirmed to 
REO by phone that the orangutans were still at the Night Safari in 
Chiang Mai.  On November 29, the Director of the DNP, Dr. Schwann 
Tunhikorn, called REO to say that the five animals had arrived at 
Khao Pratap Chang that morning, but that no date for repatriation to 
Indonesia had yet been set.  The Director expressed incredulity, as 
well as some irritation, at the U.S. government's interest in the 
matter. 
 
¶13.  Meanwhile, although the criminal case officially remains open 
against Pin Kewkacha, the wealthy owner and CEO of Safari World who 
reportedly has ties to high-level Thai politicians, there is no 
indication that Thai prosecutors intend (or dare) to pursue the 
matter further. 
 
Phnom Penh Politician's Pet 
--------------------------- 
¶14.  In June, Cambodia's Wildlife Rapid Rescue Team (WRRT) rescued 
an Orangutan being transported on a motorbike.  The WRRT team 
immediately brought the animal, which was very sick - unable to walk 
and barely able to breathe - for veterinary treatment at the Phnom 
Tamao Wildlife Rescue Center (PTWRC).  Both WRRT and PTWRC are 
supported in part by funds from USAID. 
¶15.  The PTWRC veterinarian along with a WRRT wildlife specialist 
team provided the best medical care, but it was too late and the 
animal died three days later.  The autopsy showed severely damaged 
lungs and completely blocked up intestines (due to inappropriate 
feeding of rice). 
¶16.  Cambodian Member of Parliament Nhim Vanda, a government Senior 
Minister and First Vice President of the National Committee for 
Disaster Management, claimed ownership of the rescued orangutan and 
said that the animal had been in the care of a veterinarian.  It is 
unclear how the MP came to possess the orangutan, but the animal had 
been kept at his private zoo in Kampot for two months. 
¶17.  Although Cambodia's Director of Forestry Administration also 
had confiscated two tigers from Vanda in 2000, no legal action can 
be expected in this case.  In fact, the Forestry Administration is 
known to provide veterinary services and medicines to the Senator's 
animals upon his request. 
More Monkey Business in Cambodia 
-------------------------------- 
¶18.  In July 2005, Koh Kong Safari World (affiliated with Koh Kong 
 
BANGKOK 00007146  003.2 OF 003 
 
 
Duty Free Shop in Cambodia) paid nearly 57,000 USD in fines after 
the Forestry Administration undertook an unprecedented prosecution 
and judgment against the company for illegally importing 36 
orangutans from Thailand.  Despite the judgment and penalty, 
however, the wealthy and politically-connected owner of Koh Kong 
Safari World has been allowed to keep the orangutans and earn 
profits from zoo patrons who pay to see them in kick-boxing, 
skateboarding, and bicycle riding shows. 
 
¶19.  Note: Koh Kong imported 22 orangutans in 2003 and another 14 in 
¶2004.  NGO sources suspect that some or all of the 36 orangutans 
came from Safari World in Bangkok.  As evidence, they cite that Thai 
police first raided Bangkok's Safari World in November 2003 and 
found 110 orangutans.  In a subsequent raid in July 2004, Thai 
police found only 69 animals.  Safari World officials at the time 
claimed that the other 41 apes had died and their bodies had been 
cremated! 
 
Comment 
------- 
¶20.  Wildlife trafficking is a multi-billion dollar business in 
Southeast Asia that not only threatens endangered species like the 
orangutan, but also threatens governments through its corruptive 
nature.  Wildlife smugglers seldom go to court and rarely face jail 
time or significant fines.  The politically connected importers of 
the illegal wildlife trade have even less to fear.  Since 
ASEAN-WEN's establishment, arrests and confiscations have increased 
significantly, particularly in Thailand.  The USG, which is already 
closely engaged with ASEAN-WEN, can use that organization as the 
means to help the countries of Southeast Asia live up to their 
commitment to CITES by prosecuting and penalizing the traffickers, 
including the procurers of smuggled animals, to the fullest extent 
of their laws. 
ARVIZU