A Thai customs official displaying ivory seized at the customs office of Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok. The ivory was seized from a shipment from Uganda and Kenya to Thailand and included 316 elephant tusks weighing 812.5kg.
Ivory smuggling is big business and if unchecked elephants will soon be cleared an endangered species. Once in a while, ivory in estimated at thousands of dollars is confiscated enroute to thailand or undefined destination in asia.
The government is certainly not doing enough to protect the animals in the wild. Corruption and bribery could also be the major reason why shipments of this nature leave the country without being detected. With the asian governments fighting this vice, partnerships with east african countries would greatly increase of these governments to fight the smugglers. Heavy fines and penalties should also be levied against anyone caught in this trade.
