Thai animal sanctuary raided after chief speaks out

Lucy Clark treats a wounded tiger at the Wildlife Friends Foundation Thailand.

A PARTLY Australian-funded wildlife rescue foundation whose chief spoke out about the illegal poaching of baby elephants in Thailand has been raided and had 103 animals taken away by Thai parks officials.

Several Australian witnesses say many of the animals, including endangered species, were injured during the raids over four days on the Wildlife Friends Foundation Thailand centre in south-west Thailand by up to 100 armed men, some of them wearing balaclavas to hide their identities.

The raids followed claims by the organisation's founder and director, Edwin Wiek, that more than half the elephants in tourist camps across Thailand have been illegally caught in the wild when they were young, sometimes by poachers who shoot their mothers or other members of their herd that try to protect them. ''I would say between 100 to 250 baby elephants are smuggled from the wild each year,'' says Mr Wiek, a Dutchman who has worked to protect abused animals in Thailand for years.

Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/world/thai-animal-haven-raided-after-poaching-claim-20120226-1twel.html#ixzz1nij2z5kU