Starting January 1st, tourists visiting national parks in Thailand will be required to carry their own plastic bags to contain the garbage they generate and take it out of the parks when they leave. The measure is part of the new approach to conserve the environment and to protect wild animals from ingesting plastic, which can be fatal.
The latest victim was a wild deer, which was found dead last Thursday in Khun Sathan national park in Na Noi district of the northern province of Nan. An autopsy found its stomach contained about seven kilogrammes of trash, mostly plastic, which included single-use plastic bags, male underwear, plastic rope, rubber gloves, coffee sachets and instant noodle bags.
Natural Resources and Environment Minister Warawut Silpa-archa said today he has instructed chiefs of all national parks to warn tourists to bring their own garbage bags.
Mr. Torpong Chanthopat, head of Khun Sathan national park, said that the area around the spot where the dead deer was found is fertile forest and there were no traces of intruders. He also dismissed the suggestion that the deer might have eaten trash from the park’s landfill, claiming that the landfill is sealed off.
The park chief assumed that the deer ate plastic waste discarded in one of the 32 villages located around the park.
He would like the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation, however, to replace the landfill with an incinerator.
