Bear rescued in K Chhnang
AN ASIAN black bear was rescued from a guesthouse in Kampong Chhnang on Tuesday during a raid, an official said yesterday.
The provincial Forestry Administration and members of Wildlife Alliance raided Phkay Prek Guesthouse in Kampong Chhnang town and removed the Asian black bear, making it the second of its kind to be removed from a private property in the past two months.
The animal is listed as vulnerable – just a step above the “endangered” classifica- tion – by the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List.
Thaong Vnra Vuth, director of the provincial Forestry Administration, said the guesthouse owner initially refused to let officials remove the bear, but agreed after they explained it was illegal for her to keep a wild animal at home.
“By the law, she faces punishment with a fine,” he said. The bear was taken to Phnom Tamao Wildlife Rescue Centre.
In a separate case on Tuesday, Siem Reap Provincial Military Police confiscated 185 kilograms of live wild ani- mals that were hidden on a Gi Style Express bus destined for Phnom Penh.
Mong Bun Lim, director of the provincial Forestry Administration, said the haul included 22 turtles, weighing 165 kilograms, and five monitor lizards, weighing 20 kilograms.
“The driver was not arrested because the animals are not classified [as] endangered,” Bun Lim said.
By law, the traffickers of the animals have a month to pay a fine – three times the market value of the animals – or the case will be forwarded to the court, he said.