The enclave, simply put, is a lawless playground of illicit gambling and duty-free shopping — but it’s also a nightmare for animals.
“We saw all sorts of different wildlife parts and products being sold there out in the open,” Banks told The Dodo. “There were booths selling tiger skins, stuffed tigers, rhino horn shavings, ivory and pangolin scales. Restaurants openly advertised tiger and pangolin dishes.”
And down the path from the restaurants are rows of tiny holding pens, filled with tigers.
These tigers, in Laos as in other Asian countries, are born and killed in captivity. But it’s putting wild populations at risk, too.