Gauntlett did that during a Phnom Penh wildlife bust organized by the Forestry Department last year. The sting netted two tigers and the men accused of selling them, but two more cats were still being held by the suspects wives. Fearing there was no other way to rescue the tigers, gauntlett stepped in with a stack of cash estimated to be several thousand dollars and bought the animals. Some involved in the operation said a dangerous precedent was being set and the wrong message sent by buying wildlife from dealers. Many see Gauntlett, who arrived in Cambodia a little more than a year ago, as a maverick, new to the Cambodian scene and yet reluctant to heed the advice of other experts in the field.
Observers say that reluctance was on show at last week s wildlife conference.
Hun Sen s attendance should have been a coup for the conservation movement in general, but it was soured for many by the fact that they weren t invited. We were forbidden, complained one conservationist, who declined to be identified for fear of being accused by his colleagues of divisiveness. Only one environment NGO, Conservation International, attended. Gauntlett maintained the conference was meant for Cambodian officials. She said she didn t want it to become an NGO forum, dominated by foreigners who might stifle a free, frank discussion.