Authorities have been ordered to step up patrols in Kanchanaburi in order to prevent wildlife poaching in the province's protected areas.
Minister of Environment and Natural Resources Varawut Silpa-archa said Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha ordered the move after officers at Khao Laem National Park found a tiger's paw in a snare near Pilokki village.
Local authorities have been told to speed up their search for the poacher, as well as the injured tiger -- which they believed was responsible for mauling a local man to death last month.
Park rangers have also been ordered to conduct a sweep of the area for other snares which poachers may have left behind.
The poacher will face jail time and fines as tigers are protected species in Thailand, the minister said.
A tiger with only three legs was spotted feasting on a buffalo carcass by a camera trap laid out by the Freeland Foundation between Feb 4-7. The trap was set up after a local man was mauled to death late last month.
The tiger was believed to be one of the three which had attacked Wan, 46, on Jan 28, as he was leaving his village in Thong Pha Phum district to round up his buffaloes.
Niphon Chamnmongsirisak, director of Protected Area Regional Office 3, said the Freeland Foundation and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) have recommended the disabled tiger be captured and taken to a safe area as the animal's disability poses a risk to its survival, especially with poachers around.
Mr Niphon said he had asked the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation for assistance in catching the animal.
