Thai floods recede leaving behind croc menace

Thailand has long been a centre for the breeding,exporting and trafficking of exotic animals,especially crocodiles. Farmed both legally and illegally,crocs are popular because of the value they fetch for their meat,bones and especially their skins,used to make luxury bags and accessories.

This years record monsoon rains,which prompted Thailands worst flooding in a half century and killed more than 600 people,also swamped some of the countrys estimated 3,000 crocodile farms. Many of the reptiles escaped,though probably not as many as residents think they are seeing around the city.

We get a lot of reports at the Fishery Department,but only about 5 to 10 per cent of them turn out to be true, said Praphan Lipayakun,a fishery department official. Still,officials and volunteer veterinarians have confirmed many flood-affected animals on the loose or in distress,and not only reptiles. A team of volunteer veterinarians rescued scores of animals,from deer and Capuchin monkeys to lions,tigers and bears,from the yards and homes of Thailands rich.