Pattaya-
The Department of National Parks, responding to a tip, raided the Monsters Aquarium in Pattaya yesterday who are accused of operating a zoo without a proper license.
The raid was conducted around 2:00 PM yesterday in Pattaya at the Monsters Aquarium, located along the railway road, Moo 8 in the Nong Plalai area.
The raid was led by the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation along with police from Region Two.
The business was found to have a large number of rare, exotic, protected and unique animals and fish. The owner, Mr. Chonkhai Anumas, age 45, was able to produce a license for owning the animals, however, did not have a license for running a zoo.
He was detained and faces charges of running a zoo without a license which carries penalities of not more than 300,000 baht, imprisonment for not more than 3 years or both.
Thiradej Palasuwan, head of the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation, said the Department of Parks had received a complaint that the Monster Aquarium had a lot of exotic wildlife and claims some were not being properly taken care of. Immediate evidence of this claim was not found, however, the lack of a zoo license caused the attraction to be closed until/if the license situation is corrected.
Pictures: 77kaoded,
