Airport Staff Who Caught Wildlife Smugglers Get Turtle and Snake Themed Doughnuts From PETA

Bangkok  PETA has delivered dozens of wildlife-themed vegan doughnuts to Suvarnabhumi Airport’s wildlife checkpoint and customs staff, who reportedly seized 109 live animals  two white porcupines, two armadillos, 20 snakes, 35 turtles, and 50 chameleons hidden inside the suitcases of two women on route to Chennai, India, on June 27.

“Wildlife trafficking decimates animal populations, threatens species’ survival, and subjects sensitive animals to grueling journeys across continents,” says PETA Senior Vice President Jason Baker. “PETA is celebrating the diligent staff at Suvarnabhumi Airport for saving more than 100 animals and stopping two would-be wildlife smugglers in their tracks.”

Exotic animals who are the victims of wildlife trafficking are removed from their natural habitats and transported in distressing and painful ways: parrots’ beaks and feet have been taped and the birds have been stuffed into plastic tubes, baby turtles have been trapped inside their shells with tape and shoved into tube socks, and infant pythons have been shipped inside CD cases. One customs agent says the mortality rate for smuggled animals is 80% to 90%. Many of those who survive are purchased as “pets” by people who are ill-equipped to care for them, and they suffer from malnutrition, loneliness, and the overwhelming stress of being confined to an unnatural environment.

Selling protected wildlife in stores, at auctions, or online is also one of the world’s largest sources of criminal earnings, behind only arms smuggling and drug trafficking. The smugglers at Suvarnabhumi Airport were charged with violating Thailand’s Animal Disease Act of 2015, Customs Act of 2017, and Wildlife Conservation and Protection Act of 2019. PETA has campaigned for stronger animal protection laws.

PETA  whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to abuse in any way” opposes speciesism, a human-supremacist worldview. For more information, please visit PETAAsia.com or follow us on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram.