According to reports, a Chinese “lion whisperer” in Pattaya allowed his pet lion cub to roam freely through his neighborhood, frightening and worrying nearby residents.
A house in the Central Park Hill village in Soi Thung Klom-Tan Man in the Banglamung district was visited by representatives from the Office of Conservation Area 2, Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation, and Nongprue Police in response to an odd report about a “white lion” being spotted nearby.
When the police arrived at a two-story house, they did see a white lion, but it was only a cub that was running around inside the property’s gate. Mr. Shen Tai, a 39-year-old Chinese male, appeared and claimed ownership of the little creature.
#lions and #tigers are not pets. These 3 predators were siezed by UAE police. They were being sold online. The white lion is bred to be white. There are so few of them they're "created" by inbreeding. The "rejects" are hunted or turned into ornament. RT. End illegal animal Trade pic.twitter.com/DYpn0DWHhB
— Daniel Schneider (@BiologistDan) September 10, 2019
Police said that Mr. Shen showed official documentation proving that he had paid 500,000 Baht for the lion from Mr. Yothin Nakorn, a Thai man who ran a white lion farm in the province of Chachoengsao. The authorities instructed the Chinese guy to subsequently request a license from the Office of Conservation Area 2 within an undetermined time frame after he was unable to produce the documentation necessary to rear a lion.
White lions are wild animals that fall under the management category “Kor (),” according to Dr. Pairot Promwatt, a veterinarian who accompanied the authorities, and they are regarded as hazardous. As a result, owners must properly register their ownership of the wild animals and have a permit to possess them.
Dr. Pairot stated it is possible to keep a white lion as a pet in Thailand, but the owner must secure the required ownership permits. He also suggested that lions be raised in a limited area to prevent them from harming people.
Shen was given permission to keep the lion for the time being and told officials he would get the necessary permissions; officials promised to follow up.
