Walks on the wild side: Police nab two pet lions in Bang Lamung
Chonburi police and officials from the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation (DNP) on Thursday investigated a rental house in Soi 13 Moo 4 of Huai Yai subdistrict, Bang Lamung district, Chonburi province following a public complaint about pet lions on the loose.
The complaint was posted on Facebook earlier this week, saying that two pet lions kept by the tenant were seen roaming the street on several occasions, causing concerns for safety among the locals.
Officials found two white lions, aged 10 months, one male and one female, as well as two Rottweiler dogs in the one-storey house, which was occupied by Jarinyaporn Kaewsai, 28, and two of her employees.
Jarinyaporn admitted owning the animals, explaining that the lions sometimes escaped when the electronically-controlled gates malfunctioned.
Jarinyaporn presented evidence of the purchase of the lions from a zoo in Nakhon Pathom province for 500,000 baht each in December 2022 when they were 45 days old.
Officials however found two discrepancies: The document showed two male lions, while the microchip numbers, which is a requirement for owning a lion, a protected animal under the CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora), only matched one of the lions to the database.
Officials also found that the owner never filed a registration for ownership of lions with the DNP, violating the laws on protected animals.
Jarinyaporn added that she is in the process of selling the lions back to the zoo, which will pick them up in two days.
DNP officials used tranquiliser darts on the lions before transporting them to Bang Lamung Wildlife Breeding Centre for further investigation, and police charged Jarinyaporn with violating the Wild Animal Reservation and Protection Act.
Police said the farm that sold the lions to Jarinyaporn is the same establishment that had sold a lion cub to a Thai woman, who was charged on Thursday for unreported possession of a protected animal.
The investigation follows a viral video clip of a foreigner cruising around Pattaya City in a convertible Bentley with the lion sitting on the back seat.
Sawangjit Kosungnoen, owner of the animal and a friend of the foreigner, was charged with violating the Wild Animal Reservation and Protection Act.
Police said failure to report possession of a lion is punishable by a maximum jail term of a year, a fine of up to 100,000 baht, or both.
