
BANGKOK – As the liger, a hybrid offspring of a male lion and a tigress, is not protected by law, the owner of a tiger cub who found it astray in Bang Pakong District, Chachoengsao Province around 3.30 a.m. on Thursday had lied to the officials, claiming that it was a liger.
On that day later, when wildlife officials went to examine at the Lion Farm, Moo 5, Pak Nam Subdistrict, Bang Khla District, Chachoengsao Province, the tiger cub’s owner sent a lion cub to to them for examination. He claimed that it was a “liger” cub and that the stripes were the result of spray paint used to make it look like a tiger cub for a Hollywood movie filming.
However, the officials discovered that the lion cub which was sent to them for examination was not a liger as claimed. Therefore, on Friday wildlife officials went to examine at the Lion Farm again.
This time, the officials had to wait for nearly an hour before the farm caretaker allowed them to enter, and there was a condition that reporters were not allowed to enter the farm area. After that, the farm owner changed his mind again and scheduled to meet with the officials at the Bang Khla District Hall.
The farm owner brought relevant documents to show and admitted that the animal found was indeed a tiger cub. He agreed to bring the tiger cub that was in the news to the officials.

Mr. Atthaphol Charoenchansa, Director-General of the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation, said that upon inspection, it was found that the real tiger cub that appeared in Bang Pakong is about 4 months old, while the lion cub is about 2 months old. It was discovered that both animals were illegally possessed. The officials, therefore, confiscated both animals and will take legal action against the owner.
Regarding the owner’s claim that the tiger cub was purchased from the border, officials must further investigate whether the Bang Khla farm is involved in any wrongdoing because the Bang Khla farm is not registered with the Department of National Parks but is only registered as a controlled wildlife farm.

Additionally, there will be further investigations with the owner of the tiger and lion cubs, who also owns a farm in Nakhon Pathom Province, to determine whether all the tigers and lions on that farm were obtained legally. The penalty for illegal possession is 10 years imprisonment and a fine of 100,000 baht.
As for the liger species, it was found that there are no more than 15 legally registered ligers in zoos throughout the country, in accordance with the law.
On Saturday, Mr. Atthaphol stated that the illegal owner of a tiger and a lion cub faces up to 5 years in prison and a fine of up to 500,000 baht. The farm owner in Nakhon Pathom, meanwhile, faces a jail term of 6 months and/or a fine of up to 50,000 baht for not informing the authorities about the transaction.
Meanwhile, Minister of Natural Resources and Environment, Patchravat Vongsuwon, named the tiger cub “Nina.” The officials from the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation brought Nina to the Bueng Chawak Wildlife Management Development Center in Suphan Buri Province to raise her. They will charge the tiger cub’s owner, who is being prosecuted, 1,394,000 baht for the care of the cub over a 10-year period, in accordance with the department’s regulations.
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