A Thai woman and two foreign nationals have been charged with illegal possession of a lion cub after a video of the beast riding in a Bentley convertible along a crowded street in Pattaya went viral online.
National parks officials and police quickly began an investigation that took them to a house in tambon Nong Prue of Bang Lamung district where the female lion cub was raised, said Weera Khunchairuk, deputy director of the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation (DNP).
Two women — a Thai and a Ukrainian national — were inside the house during the visit on Wednesday. Sawangjit Kosungneon was the lion’s registered owner and Abina Kuruts was the caretaker of the 9-month-old cub.
A scan of a microchip implanted in the cub showed it came from a farm in Nakhon Pathom province. The farm owner, identified only as Mr Krit, had transferred ownership of the animal to Ms Sawangjit but the paperwork was not yet complete.
Ms Sawangjit told the officials that the house was rented by a Sri Lankan businessman. The 53-year-old Sri Lankan was the person seen cruising through Pattaya in a white Bentley convertible with the lion cub sitting in the back seat. He left the country on Jan 22.
Ms Sawangjit, Ms Kuruts and the Sri Lankan are all facing charges of illegal possession of a wild animal under the Wildlife Protection Act, said illegal possession of a wild animal, said Prasert Sornsathapornkul, director of the Wild Fauna and Flora Protection Division of the DNP. The offence carries a jail term up to one year and/or a fine of up to 100,000 baht.
Mr Prasert said a complaint would also be filed against Mr Krit, the farm owner in Nakhon Pathom, for possession of the lion cub and transferring wildlife without permission. The offence carries a jail term of up to six months and/or a fine of up to 50,000 baht.
According to Mr Prasert, a total of 38 owners have registered possession of 224 lions across the country.
The DNP plans to accelerate a review to determine whether all registered lions are being raised in safe places in order to prevent a recurrence of the incident in Pattaya.
In a related development, police raided a house in tambon Huai Yai on Thursday after a post on the Pattaya Watchdog Facebook page claimed other lions were living on the street nearby.
The house owner, identified only as Saowapha, 28, told the police that she bought two cubs from a farm and raised them with two Rottweiler dogs. Even though the lions appeared tame, she planned to return them to the farm, according to the police.
In March last year, residents of a luxury housing estate in Pattaya went into a panic after they saw a white lion cub wandering around the community.
The animal’s Chinese owner, who had purchased it for 500,000 baht, had reported it missing but later informed officers that he found it hiding inside the house.
Authorities who visited the house discovered that the cub was not confined to a cage but allowed to roam freely.
Residents of Phra Tamnak Soi 5 in Pattaya say the lion cub seen riding in a Bentley convertible recently was a frequent sight in the populated area.