CHON BURI, April 25 – Local authorities seized an undisclosed number of protected wild snakes today at a snake farm in Sattahip district after local residents reported to authorities that tourists from abroad came to consume the reptiles and their byproducts.
Four pythons and Burmese Pythons were also confiscated there, which were to be sent later to a wildlife rescue centre by the authorities, as the farm caretakers were unable to produce legal documents allowing them to possess the protected animals.
Apart from different types of pythons, Sattahip Chief District Officer Pawat Lertmukda said more than a hundred cobras were also on the farm, and a group of about 20 Asian tourists was drinking alcoholic drinks mixed with snake gall. Frozen snake meat was stored in refrigerators, as well as pickled snake meat and pickled snake eggs.
However, no specific legal action could be taken against them as the activity did not violate Thailand’s Wild Animal Reservation and Protection Act.
Possession of wild restricted animals without an official licence from the authorities is prohibited by law, and an offender can face a maximum penalty of four years in jail or a fine of 40,000 baht or both. (
