Officers from the Non-Hunting Wildlife Refuge Area in Krabi province seized a black squirrel that had been smuggled into a cage at a restaurant in Nong Thale, a popular tourist destination.
Foreign visitors reported seeing a black squirrel smuggled into a restaurant cage and shown as a tourist attraction in Nong Thale to police at the Wildlife Refuge in Krabi province.
Officers from the 2nd Special Operations Division, the Office of the Prevention and Suppression Support 4th Southern Region, inspected a shop in the area of Moo 2, Nong Thale Subdistrict, Mueang Krabi District, after receiving information from foreign tourists that there was smuggling of protected wildlife. When the inspectors arrived at the site to check it, they discovered a protected black squirrel. The squirrel was discovered to be protected animals after being imprisoned in a cage.

Mr. Surin, 46, was apprehended and detained in Village No. 2, Nong Thale Subdistrict, Mueang Krabi District, Krabi Province. The entire amount of the fine was 3,000 baht. The eatery was charged with illegally possessing protected species without authorization from the relevant authorities. Detainees were taken to investigators at Ao Nang Police Station, Krabi Province, and were prosecuted in accordance with the Wildlife Preservation and Protection Act of 2019, Section 17, punishable by Section 92.
Mr. Suwat Suksiri, the director of the Thung Thale Wildlife Refuge Area, said that he got complaints from international visitors through social media postings reading, “In the Restaurant I Found This Caged Animal” with the comment, “Is there anything that can be done to conserve this magnificent wild?” “Is there anything that can be done to maintain the forest’s beauty?” According to reports from international visitors, there was a huge iron cage with animal number 134, Phraya, a black squirrel, inside. The business owner, Mr. Surin Suebma, 46, admitted that there is no authorization to hold endangered species under the Wildlife Preservation and Protection Act 2019.
The accused said that he noticed a black squirrel falling from a tall tree in the forest and discovered that it was blind in both eyes; hence, he felt pity on it and carried it home to feed it. If I had known I was being watched, I would not have adopted it; I would have probably let it die in the first place.