[1] Since 2001, PTWRC has been run by the government institution of Cambodian Forestry Administration in partnership with an environmental non-profit organization called Wildlife Alliance.

PTWRC currently houses over 1,200 rescued animals from 102 species including endangered Asian elephants, tigers, Pileated gibbon, Siamese crocodile, Malayan sun bears, among many others.

[3] A captive breeding and release program for the critically endangered Siamese crocodile led by Fauna & Flora International operates out of facilities at Phnom Tamao.

[7] The Cambodian Forestry Administration assisted by Wildlife Alliance confiscated 7 tigers in a sting operation in Phnom Penh in the year 2000.

[7] All of the animals living at PTWRC were confiscated from the illegal wildlife trade, victims of habitat loss, donated by a private owner, or rescued in a human-wildlife conflict situation.

WRRT is a unique law enforcement squad in Southeast Asia, being devoted solely to combating the illegal wildlife trade.

WRRT’s skill in handling and caring for rescued wild animals is such that there are almost never any fatalities, despite the poor conditions in which most traded wildlife is found.

[2] Until 2001, Cambodia’s most prominent markets openly displayed rare animals for purchase and wildlife meats were commonplace on restaurant menus.

Fines can be considerable and amounts of money have risen steadily as officials realize the importance of implementing laws protecting wild animals.

The Wildlife Rapid Rescue Team is not a forest patrol unit but a task force with a nationwide mandate that deals with the illegal trade, usually conducted from towns and cities.

It does not address subsistence hunting but mostly the lucrative business conducted by middle men, who sell live and dead wild animals to restaurants and medical stores or export wildlife for consumption in neighboring countries.