The blood trade in sin city

In a long article called Sin City, accompanied by gruesome photos, the researchers of the Environmental Investigation Agency summarize the illegal wildlife trade in the Golden Triangle in the special economic zone of Laos in broad daylight

In a long article called Sin City, accompanied by gruesome photos, researchers from the Environmental Investigation Agency summarize the illegal wildlife trade in the Golden Triangle in the special economic zone in Laos.

The article details luxury hotels and casinos in an area where the Chinese have about 20% control, and where tourists from all over the world come to buy wild animals or their parts, eat endangered species and drink drinks made from rare animal parts.
Here are the researchers' main conclusions and recommendations:

• The wildlife trade in the "Golden Triangle Special Economic Zone" (GT SEZ) takes place openly and openly. The buyers are mainly Chinese gamblers and tourists who smuggle the goods to China
  • Tigers and other wild animals that come mainly from India, Thailand and Malaysia are a source of income for criminal organizations linked to Myanmar and China. Tigers that are raised on farms in Laos are part of the "tiger bone wine" industry. These farms operate in violation of global agreements to preserve tigers and in violation of the regulations of the Animal Trade Agency (CITES).Because of a shortage of tigers, they use the bones of lions that are hunted in Africa and smuggled to Laos.
•  The Chinese government, which holds 20% of the lease and operating rights of most enterprises in the region, does not enforce laws prohibiting the trade in wild animals. The hotel-casino group Kings Romans Group (KRG) owns 80% of the enterprises in the region, links the blood trade with "legitimate" businesses with international connections and thus is connected to global criminal organizations. Laos makes routine use of international criminal organizations nationals to avoid the enforcement of these laws.
• Law enforcement units and political committees in Laos lack the ability to stop the animal trade and the demand for tigers.The area has several "hot spots" and trade routes that are not subject to legal enforcement despite being visible and well known.
• China, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam have had more than ten years to enforce CITES wildlife trade laws and regulations. Nothing is done and the results are dismal.

That is why CITES recommends the following courses of action to the government of Laos:

• Immediately establish an agency and task force to enforce wildlife trade laws
• Ensure that products originating from wild animals are seized by experts who will check their origin and map the criminal network of those involved to allow the integration of international enforcement forces
• Confiscate wild animals that have arrived in the area
• Strengthen the legislation that will ensure severe punishment for crimes of harming wild animals
• Amend the legislation to prohibit local trade in wild animal parts and products in general and farm-raised tigers in particular.

The organization calls for the implementation of the UN resolution on reporting any violation of the wildlife and forest protection regulations, to establish a computerized data base for wildlife crimes that includes: intelligence, arrests and punishments. The database will be exposed for use by law enforcement agencies. In addition, improvement and training of those involved in enforcement: police officers, customs inspectors, prosecutors and judges, and the establishment of an environmental court.
The organization also called for the guidance of the Committee for Economic Zones to ban investments in the area until the activity is investigated and the perpetrators are punished.
Also, the international organization for the fight against wildlife crimes (CCWC)) is required to support the region in all these actions, to check and follow the implementation of the recommendations.

CITES recommends that the Chinese government investigate the connections between Chinese businessmen and traders who operate in the region and the criminal activity between Laos, Myanmar and China. The investigation will include the economic sharing with international crime networks, in order to strengthen control at the borders where the main trade movement is and to implement regulations that would allow economic sanctions against Chinese companies involved in wildlife trade.
CITES requires the Chinese to amend the legislation so that it allows full implementation of the commitment to stop the breeding and trade in tigers and requests that it declare a policy of zero tolerance towards the trade in tiger parts.

Those involved are required to cease all wildlife trade until the governments of Laos and China demonstrate full implementation of law enforcement in the region. The organization also requires evidence from China, Thailand, Laos and Vietnam for the full implementation of CITES regulations and laws to prevent trade in protected animals.

"The International Organization to Combat Wildlife Crime" offers its help to the government of Laos and its support in the implementation of the regulations for the protection of wild animals and animal trade. ‬‬‬‬
The donor organization will support the government of Laos which will take immediate steps to strengthen the law enforcement and justice forces, their training and equipment so that they can fulfill their role in stopping the blood trade.

On a personal and skeptical note, I will add that after American and European hunters "diluted" the wild animal populations in Africa, laws were enacted and regulations amended to prevent the complete extinction of many species. Most of the countries and states are bound by the laws (at least "on paper") and yet the killing and trafficking continues, mainly because of the demand which is mostly based on superstitions and driven by unnecessary customs.
Although from time to time we hear about "legal hunters" "sportsmen" of various kinds, we all know that China is the main cause of harm to wild animals because of the size of the population and the wide spread of superstitions on the one hand, and also because of an increase in the standard of living that allows more Chinese to purchase wild animal products. Considering the rising power of the Chinese empire combined with the fact that the natural environment is not a priority in the eyes of the Chinese, the commercial companies or the Chinese government, to put it mildly, it is difficult for me to see how to implement a policy that would prevent the extinction of many species.
What a shame.

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