BANGKOK, Aug 20 (TNA) — Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha expressed his sorrow on the death of baby dugong Marium, blaming it on plastic waste, and announced he did not want to see any more unnatural death of dugongs.
Gen Prayut recalled the ill fate of the dugong after he was briefed on the issue by a delegation of Varawut Silpa-archa, minister of natural resources and environment.
“I sympathize with Marium. I regret that I did not visit it when I was in the South. At that time I learned that Marium was moved to a safe place. Eventually it died. An autopsy found plastic in its intestine. So everyone must be aware of the problem,” the prime minister said.
“Animals can’t eat what humans can’t. Plastic is a major problem because it takes hundreds of years to decay.”
Gen Prayut said that the government set a goal to reduce plastic waste but the goal also depended on everyone’s cooperation.
“The government takes care of both people and animals. I have made my order that no more dugongs die like that,” Gen Prayut said. (TNA)
