Takeo provincial police sent a man to court on February 27 after he was arrested for killing a Sambar deer at the Phnom Tamao Zoological Park and Wildlife Rescue Centre.
Try Sitheng, head of the animal care section at the centre, said workers found the deer dead on February 2. The deer had been butchered and its horns removed. Sitheng immediately called the police after the discovery.
“The sambar was being treated for a broken right back leg, which had been caused by an illegal snare in the forest,” he said.
Bati district police chief Chhay Keo Mony said police had searched for the offender for 25 days before finally arresting him in the forest west of Kraing Thnong commune’s Tbeng village and took him to the district police station on February 26. He identified the suspect as Thim Ravy, 33, a resident of the village who admitted to killing the deer.
“The suspect said he took the horns and meat of the deer to sell to Nhim Youheng, also known as Chak, 49, a resident in the same village,” he added.
Keo Mony said the police had seized the horns from Chak and returned them to the wildlife rescue centre.