What do Thai restaurants use to sell fake bird's nests to Chinese tourists?

According to a report on the official Weibo of Thailand's "Some Media" on August 10, every tourist who comes to Thailand will buy local specialties, among which Thai bird's nest is a nourishing product that has been very popular in recent years. But are you sure the bird's nest you are eating is authentic? Is it mixed with other substances? Thailand's Special Investigation Department (DSI) has raided nine restaurants in Pattaya for illegally selling fake bird's nests to Chinese tourists. Use coconut skin to fake bird's nest.

In addition, on August 9, local time, six major units including the Prapa District Police Station and the Wildlife Conservation Station in Thailand, after verifying reports from multiple people, issued official complete search warrants and arrest warrants. Surrounded and broke into a large restaurant at No. 256 Sriwara Road in the area. The restaurant is suspected of smuggling and illegally capturing and killing wild protected animals, and has been closed down by the police. The police seized all items in the house and conducted a comprehensive investigation and evidence collection.

The restaurant has Chinese characters on its signboard, has 4 floors, has two main passages, and is close to the center of Sriwara Road. The upper floors (3-4 floors) are staff dormitories, and the lower floors (1-2 floors) are restaurants and kitchens, filled with slaughtered wild animal carcasses. The police also found multiple plates of meat from nationally protected snakes, turtles and other animals on the dining table. The 66-year-old restaurant manager Zamu (from Chiang Rai) and six Burmese employees in the restaurant were controlled by the police on the spot and will be escorted back to the police station for interrogation. The investigation units also collected samples of all wildlife at the site and seized all items in the house.

In the police station, the person in charge of the restaurant, Zamu, explained that the restaurant has been in business for 8 years, and most of the customers are Chinese. If they are regular customers, they will call to reserve the required wild animals before dining. The restaurant also A detailed menu is prepared for customers to choose from. The most popular dishes are snakes and soft-shell turtles.

Among the protected animals found by the police, there were 4 snakes (all highly venomous), 21 wild soft-shelled turtles, 1 turtle, and 10 other snakes that were not included in the protection list. However, catching and killing without official permission is also illegal and the police will handle it in accordance with the law. It is reported that the price of wild snakes in this store is 1,000 baht (200 yuan) for a small snake and 3,000 baht (600 yuan) for a large snake. Some varieties of pangolins or turtles are speculated to tens of thousands of baht per catty, that is, the price per catty is more than 1,000 baht per catty. Thousands of RMB.

The police said that the restaurant took advantage of the high demand for health and nourishing effects among foreign tourists and illegally slaughtered and cooked nationally protected wild animals through smuggling channels. According to the "Animal Protection Act of the Kingdom of Thailand 1992", you may be sentenced to 4 years in prison and fined 40,000 baht (8,000 yuan). The staff will continue to improve the evidence and prosecute. During the period, they will also cooperate with animal protection organizations to release animals that have not been slaughtered. wild animals.

These businesses must be banned. They are making shady money by selling fake bird's nests. Selling wild animals is illegal.