Tycoon who ate Thai black leopard plans to build highway through 'pristine' habitat in Myanmar.
A Thai businessman caught poaching a rare black leopard plans to build a highway through a pristine forest in Myanmar that is home to endangered leopards and connects two tiger sanctuaries.
Conservationists, residents, and an armed ethnic group have all expressed concerns about the project.
Mr Premchai and three associates were caught camping in Thailand's Thungyai Naresuan Wildlife Sanctuary with guns, the skin of a black leopard and soup made from the female leopard's tail.
The case has outraged many Thais, with fresh protests on Sunday in central Bangkok featuring demonstrators wearing black leopard masks demanding justice despite the tycoon's wealth and connections.
The high-profile poaching scandal has also rung alarm bells for conservationists and those effected by a proposed highway between the Thai border and Myanmar's Dawei special economic zone.
said Thant Zin, director of the Dawei Development Association, an advocacy group in Myanmar. »