A vendor holds a snake at a wildlife market in Jakarta, Indonesia. Photo courtesy of World Animal Protection and photographer Aaron Gekoski
BANGKOK (AP) Thailand is ramping up efforts to curb trade in wildlife to help reduce the risk of future pandemics, officials said Thursday, though it was unclear whether that would mean an end to all sales of exotic species in the wildlife trafficking hub.
The government intends to make Thailand “free of the legal wildlife trade” while also combatting illegal trafficking in wild animals, Minister for Natural Resources and the Environment Waravut Silpa-archa said Thursday.
Speaking in pre-recorded addresses, Silpa-archa and other officials said the pandemic has raised the urgency of shutting down the supply chain of wildlife and game meat that is thought to be a key factor in the spread of COVID-19, Ebola and other illnesses.
Thailand reveals plan to end legal sale of wildlife
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Thailand reveals plan to end legal sale of wildlife
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