A high-profile case involving the

poaching Poaching has been defined as the illegal hunting or capturing of wild animals, usually associated with land use rights. Poaching was once performed by impoverished peasants for subsistence purposes and to supplement meager diets. It was set a ...

of a

black panther A black panther is the melanistic colour variant of the leopard (''Panthera pardus'') and the jaguar (''Panthera onca''). Black panthers of both species have excess black pigments, but their typical rosettes are also present. They have been d ...

and other protected wildlife took place in

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...

in February 2018. It involved a group led by Premchai Karnasuta, president of

Italian-Thai Development The Italian-Thai Development Public Company Limited ( th, บริษัท อิตาเลียนไทย ดีเวล๊อปเมนต์ จำกัด (มหาชน)) was formed on 15 August 1958 as the "Italian-Thai Corpora ...

—one of the country's largest construction firms—in the

Thung Yai Naresuan Wildlife Sanctuary The Thung Yai Naresuan Wildlife Sanctuary ( th, เขตรักษาพันธุ์สัตว์ป่าทุ่งใหญ่นเรศวร, ) is a protected area in Thailand in the northern part of Kanchanaburi Province and the ...

. Premchai and three associates were arrested by park rangers, who found them in possession of weapons and hunting equipment and the carcasses of a black leopard, a

Kalij pheasant The kalij pheasant (''Lophura leucomelanos'') is a pheasant found in forests and thickets, especially in the Himalayan foothills, from Pakistan to western Thailand. Males are rather variable depending on the subspecies involved, but all have at ...

and a

barking deer Barking may refer to: Places * Barking, London, a town in East London, England ** London Borough of Barking and Dagenham, a local government district covering the town of Barking ** Municipal Borough of Barking, a historical local government dist ...

at a camp in the wildlife sanctuary on 4 February. The case generated public pressure over accountability to the law of the wealthy and influential, amid concerns that Premchai might avoid punishment. After appeals, a final judgement by the

Supreme Court A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

in December 2021 found Premchai, his driver, and his hunting guide guilty of hunting and possessing wildlife carcasses. They were sentenced to jail terms ranging from three years and two months to three years and nine months, and ordered to pay two million baht (US$60,000) in damages.

References

{{reflist 2018 in Thailand 2018 crimes in Thailand Crime in Thailand Poaching 2018 in the environment Wildlife conservation in Thailand Environmental issues in Thailand Animal cruelty incidents

See also

References