Experts fear Jatukham fever may endanger dugongs

PHUKET (Gazette/Kom Chad Luek): Conservation experts fear that fierce competition in the promotion of Jatukham Ramathep amulets may have sparked renewed interesting in the hunting of dugong, whose teardrops are believed by some to have magical powers.

Phuket Marine Biological Center (PMBC) biologist Kanjana Adulyankosol told the Gazette that fears stemmed from promotional material used by one Jatukham seller coupled with the February 14 discovery of a dead baby dugong with unexplained trauma to the eyes.

“There is a belief that dugong teardrops possess special powers because mother dugong are known to become obsessed when searching for their lost young,” she said.

“Dugong are easy for people to hunt down, and the method used to extract the teardrops is extremely cruel. It involves removing the animal from the water, waiting for the eyes to dry up and then hitting the tear ducts to induce tears,” she said.

The amount of tear liquid that can be extracted in this way is very limited, she added.

K. Kanjana said that the carcass of the baby dugong was found in Phang Nga Bay.

“It had a wound from a sharp object on its left eye and the cornea in right eye was missing, but we don’t know for sure what the cause was,” she said.

“I don’t know whether the sales pitch used to promote the amulets is true or not, but if it is, it is absolutely illegal,” she added.

“There are only about 250 dugong left in Thai waters. Sale of their body parts, including tusks or other tissues, is completely prohibited,” said K. Kanjana, who has undertaken several population estimates of the population from a two-seat microlight aircraft.

K. Kanjana estimated said the annual death rate in the population is relatively stable at around 10 animals annually, but that even a small rise in that rate could quickly push the local population towards extinction because of the dugong’s slow breeding rate.

Natural Resources and Environment Minister Kasem Sanitwong na Ayuthaya said anyone caught hunting dugong or whales for use in amulet production would face prosecution to the fullest extent possible under the law.

Whale blubber is another material that has been advertised in promotions for some series of the Jatukham talisman.

Nisakorn Kositrat, Director General of the Marine and Coastal Resources Department, said his agency was being particularly vigilant in investigating any reports of dead dugong, especially in Trang province, home to about half of the known population in Thai waters.

He asked for cooperation from local organizations to prevent hunting of dugong, the local population of which is listed as “vulnerable to extinction if trade in them is not halted” under Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).

http://www.phuketgazette.com/news/index.asp?id=5868

Jatukham fever shows no sign of breaking

Panya Ruengsawang (left), owner of a Jatukham amulet shop in Phuket City, discusses amulets with a customer.

PHUKET City: Jatukham Ramathep amulets and shops that sell them seem to be springing up all over Phuket, reflecting the hope that springs eternal among their devotees.

The amulets, priced from 50 baht to several hundred thousand baht, have become the latest craze – not just in Phuket but across the country and even abroad.

Nationwide, the business was estimated to be worth 20 billion baht in 2006, according to research by Kasikorn Research Center.

Shops selling the Jatukham amulets have been operating in Phuket for more than a decade, but it is only in the past several months that the number and visibility of these shops has skyrocketed, following a spate of media reports about the amulets.

In the past two or three months alone, between 10 and 20 new amulet shops and stalls have opened across Phuket, said Panya Ruengsawang, owner of one of the oldest Jatukham shops in Phuket City, on Rassada Rd near the Suriyadet Circle.

He estimates that about one million baht exchanges hands every day in Phuket’s Jatukham trade.

“When I started my shop in 1993 there were no more than three amulet shops in Phuket to serve amulet lovers. However, in the past year Phuket has seen at least 10 new shops. During the most recent Jatukham boom over the past two or three months, another 10 to 20 amulet shops have opened,” said K. Panya, 55.

Originally from Nakhon Sri Thammarat, the amulets are believed to bring good luck and business prosperity, which is why younger people and business owners are buying them, K. Panya said.

“It used to be that our customers were mostly older folks, but now we have more working men and women, along with teenagers, buying amulets. The local interest in Jatukham amulets has definitely been brought on by the national craze,” he said.

“We also have a lot of international business owners who want to take the Jatukham amulets home with them, so they are buying amulets as well. The prices are going up so quickly that sometimes I reserve a top amulet for about 100,000 baht, but before I can even put it in the customers hands the price goes up to 300,000 baht.

“The most sought-after type of Jatukham are of the original Jatukham Hluk Mueng series, produced at Wat Mahatat in 1987. Prices for these generally start at 400,000 to 500,000 per amulet because they are so difficult to find now. The Jatukham Kod Sed Thee (Megarich) is also very popular, especially in Singapore and neighboring countries. Those can fetch between 60,000 and 80,000 baht each.”

The boom in amulet shops in Phuket is helping K Panya’s shop. Although there are fewer customers, they are buying more expensive amulets.

“I don’t have as many customers as I used to because there are so many shops to choose from now,” he said. “I used to turn a profit of 800 to 2,000 baht per day, but since the Jatukham boom started three months ago, my profit jumped to 4,000 to 6,000 baht per day. Some shops have more than 10,000 baht per day profit.”

K. Panya said that he expects the prices, and profits, from Jatukham amulets to continue to increase in Phuket, especially if more miracles are attributed to them in the media.

With so may people getting in on the Jatukham bandwagon, perhaps it should come as little surprise that the government is seeking for ways to get its share of the spoils.

In late April, Revenue Department Director-General Sanit Rangnoi said the department was sending officials to check the estimated income from Jatukham transactions and was considering whether to tax enterprises related to the soaring sales of the amulets.

“There is a tremendous amount of money floating around in the amulet market. If the production of the talismans is for commercial purposes, it should be taxed. If the production is done purely out of faith, it may be exempt,” he said.

Thus far there has been no announcement that the Revenue Department was planning to move forward with the tax.

By Sompratch Saowadhon
http://www.phuketgazette.com/thirdweek/business.asp