Thailand’s cabinet has approved in principle the draft Royal Decree on additional kinds of conserved wild animals (No. …), B.E. … which prescribes Balaenoptera musculus (blue whale) as an additional species of conserved wild animals. The draft Royal Decree will be merged into one law with another draft Royal Decree, approved earlier by the Cabinet on 6 September 2022, which prescribed Buceros vigil or Rhinoplax vigil (helmeted hornbill) as a conserved wild animal.

Balaenoptera musculus, the largest animal on the planet, was listed earlier by Thailand as a protected wild animal. They are found in all oceans, and were spotted in Thailand’s Andaman Coast three times. Blue whales are included in the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List as an endangered species (EN). Thailand also lists the blue whale in Thailand Red Data.

Once the law takes effect, Balaenoptera musculus and Buceros vigil / Rhinoplax vigil will be strictly conserved and preserved in a similar manner as 19 other kinds of conserved wild animals under the Wild Animal Conservation and Protection Act, B.E. 2562, which include mammals, birds, reptiles, and fish.