'Inspector Beagle' sniffs out smoked bat meat from China

A sniffer beagle of the Livestock Development Department detected a smoked bat being smuggled into Thailand from China in a passenger's bag at Suvarnabhumi airport.

Somchuan Ratanamangkalanon, director-general of the department, said an "Inspector Beagle" from its Quarantine and Inspection Canine Unit working at the airport detected the smoked bat and other cured  meat in luggage on a flight from Kunming. He did not say when.

The dead bat was in a small bag weighing 2.5 kilogrammes. It was packed along with a bag of smoked ham of the same weight and another bag of smoked bacon weighing 4.5kg.

The goods were seized for laboratory examination and later disposal. Bat meat could carry the Nipah virus, which can cause fatal inflammation of brain, and the pork could carry the African swine fever virus, Mr Somchuan said.

"Inspector Beagles are on duty to detect such products being smuggled in arriving luggage, especially on flights from countries such as Cambodia, Malaysia, Taiwan, Laos, Vietnam and China," Mr Somchuan said.

An official shows the smuggled meat.

The smuggled smoked bat.