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AYUTTHAYA , Operators of private elephant shelters on Thursday are preparing to march on Bangkok with their animals to protest a proposed amendment to the Wildlife Preservation and Protection Act which they said was drafted without their participation.



Operators of private elephant shelters gathered in Ayutthaya on Thursday to protest a proposed amendment to the Wildlife

The group, which includes Soraida Salwala, president of Friends of the Asian Elephant (FAE), gathered at Royal Elephant Kraal and Village in Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya district to discuss stepped up action against the draft law.

The amendment would give the National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation Department (NPWCD) authority to take charge of regulating domesticated elephants from the Interior Ministry's Department of Provincial Administration.

The draft bill also allows wildlife authorities to confiscate a domesticated elephant if the owner fails to produce an ownership certificate.

Laithongrian Meephan, chairman of Pra Kosjaban Foundation, an elephant conservation group, said government officials had less knowledge about taking proper care of elephants than kraal operators and there had been cases of the animals dying while in the hands of the authorities after they were confiscated.

The NPWCD has sought overseeing authority in order to maintain better control of the kraals as they have found many elephants lack certification or have fake documents, indicating they might have been caught in the wild.

The opponents of the legislation Thursday discussed a plan to take their elephants to the capital, Mr Laithongrian said.

On Monday, the NPWCD held the first round of public hearings on the bill but the protesters boycotted it, saying it was not a serious event as the amendment had been proposed without their opinions.

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