KANCHANABURI: Three hunters were arrested with a number of wildlife carcasses on Sunday in Khao Laem National Park in Thong Pha Phum district of this western border province.
Khao Laem National Park chief Thewin Meesap said Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation officials were on patrol in the forest near Tipye village in tambon Chalae when they came across three men leaving the forest carrying two guns and fertiliser bags.
The three men were detained for a search.
Found in the fertiliser bags were carcasses of two black giant squirrels, two black hornbills, two Asiatic brush-tailed porcupines, one langur, one monkey, one soft-shelled turtle and one clouded monitor lizard.
Also found in their possession were a CZ452 rifle with 75 rounds of ammunition, a 22mm home-made rifle, three machetes, four head torches, one flashlight, four aluminium pots, three hammocks, four lighters, gas cooking equipment and a backpack.
The three men were charged with violating the Wildlife Conservation and Protection Act of 2019, the National Park Act of 2019 and the Firearm Act of 1947.
They were taken to Thong Pha Phum police station for legal proceedings.