By Kate Bartlett
PHNOM PENH
Cambodian police have raided the office of the Chinese Chamber of Commerce in the capital Phnom Penh, seizing tiger and leopard skins, as well as three live long-tailed macaques thought to be destined for use in traditional medicine.
The Cambodia Daily reported Tuesday that the raid, in which police were aided by NGO Wildlife Alliance, also uncovered 10 otter skins and more than 7 kilograms of animal bones; including leopard claws, white-bellied sea eagle claws and Sambar deer horns.
“The suspect Chinese men have been sent to the Forestry Administration in Phnom Penh for questioning and court processing, but I do not yet know what will happen to them,” Wuthy Ravong, who works for Wildlife Alliance, told the Daily.
An official at the Chinese Chamber of Commerce declined to comment when contacted by the Anadolu Agency on Tuesday.
Many Chinese people believe exotic animal parts contain healing properties and use them in medicines. This market in large part accounts for the poaching of endangered animals in the region—such as wild cats and sunbears.
Clouded leopards—19 skins of which were discovered in Monday's raid—are a smaller wild cat species than the tiger or leopard and have become more popular in Chinese medicine as those populations have dwindled.
Clouded leopard are listed as “vulnerable” under the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) redlist.
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