STAFF REPORTER
GUWAHATI: At a time when frequent incidents of smuggled exotic wildlife being seized in Assam, Mizoram and Meghalaya, in particular, are creating headlines in the media, a report compiled by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) has highlighted the international nature of the illegal trade and the fact that the Northeastern region is playing a pivotal role due to its porous international borders.
Wildlife trafficking is the fourth-largest form of transnational organized crime, after the smuggling of drugs, human trafficking and counterfeiting of money.
According to the DRI's Smuggling in India report 2020–21, India serves as both a source as well as a transit country for illegal wildlife and wildlife products. The report says that smugglers of exotic wildlife species in India have even resorted to misusing the Voluntary Disclosure Scheme.
Since India is not only a major source but also a transit and destination country for trafficked wildlife and wildlife products, a large number of species are illegally transported out of and into the country and the Northeast is becoming a focal point for this trade. According to the DRI report, the most common wildlife and wildlife products that were seized while being smuggled out of India are ivory, turtles & tortoises (especially the Indian star tortoise), and red sandalwood (red sanders or lal chandan). Although of late there has been a decline in rhino horn trading from India, the country is fast becoming a major hub for pangolin poaching and trafficking. The trade-in of tiger parts also seems to be continuing unabated.
Along with these, wildlife trafficking has expanded to include the trade in body parts of golden jackals, Asiatic black bears, leopards (for tantric uses and traditional medicines) and mongooses (for mongoose hair paintbrushes). Apart from the illegal import and export of wildlife and wildlife products, India also has a roaring domestic market for wildlife meat and body parts for traditional medicine, including those of freshwater turtles, lorises, and frogs. Trafficking in rhino horns, tiger parts and pangolin scales is especially rampant in the Indo-Nepal, and Indo-Myanmar-China borders, with Northeastern cities such as Dimapur, Guwahati and Imphal being used transit sites. Trafficking of birds and reptiles along the India-Bangladesh border is also rampant. Most recently, the Dooars region in northern West Bengal, specifically, the town of Jalpaiguri, made news as an emerging transit point for the trafficking of exotic animals and birds.
The report says that new market demands such as those for pangolin scales and European glass eels have emerged. In Assam, because of the intense hunting of pangolins by local tribes, who eat the meat and sell the scales, this once-abundant animal is now relatively rare. The traditional medicine markets in China and Vietnam are major consumers of pangolin scales, rhino horns, and the skin and body parts of various big cats, birds, Asiatic black bears, musk deer, wolves, and jackals.
Another major driving factor for wildlife trafficking in India lies in the growing demand for exotic pets, especially birds like cockatoos, macaws, and grey parrots. In addition, many Indian birds, fish, and reptiles are in great demand in the global pet markets. What is even more shocking is that zoos may also be involved in illegally buying exotic animals.
Several other factors have made the fight against the illegal wildlife trade increasingly difficult. Amongst these are the porous international borders with China, Myanmar, and other Southeast Asian countries, a growing aviation market and the fast-expanding airport sector, and the use of social media as online marketplaces by wildlife traffickers, the report says.
Also Read: Assam: Officials In Rangia Seize Rare Tortoises, Monkeys And Wallabies Smuggled From Myanmar
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