Kampot: The Wildlife Alliance Cambodia has urged people to stop using snares or traps in the wild. This was following the death of a clouded Leopard rescued from a trap in Kampot province. Wildlife Alliance says that their team picked up the young male Leopard from a local police station after it was rescued and was brought to Phnom Tamao Wildlife Rescue Centre to undergo surgery for the injuries caused by the snare. However, the life of the leopard after the surgery only lasted for two days.

Director of Wildlife Rescue and Care, Mr. Nick Marx says, “The death of this clouded Leopard is another reminder of the deadly threat of snares. Snares are set in the thousands throughout forests in Cambodia. And most animals will die slow and painful deaths in the snare or from their injuries later, like this clouded leopard.”

Wildlife Alliance has added that clouded Leopards are considered as a rare species. Under Cambodian law, they are protected and categorized as endangered. Marx says, “Therefore, we join the Ministry of Environment in calling on all people to stop eating wild animals. The demand for wild meat drives the suffering and death of rare and endangered animals in Cambodia, like this Clouded Leopard. Snares kill”.

He says the result of these snares will be empty forests in Cambodia. “If strong laws are not applied very soon to stop this method of hunting, Cambodian forests will have zero wildlife left.”