CHENNAI: If Indonesian officials had not intercepted a consignment of 19 Indian star tortoises sent to the Southeast Asian country from Chennai, the animals would have ended up in a meal served up in a restaurant in Jakarta or rerouted to Europe or the United States for sale as pets.
The tortoises were returned to the country and the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB) last Saturday handed them over to the Arignar Anna Zoological Park where they are being rehabilitated. The Indian star tortoise is a protected species and it is illegal to either possess or trade the reptile in the country.
This has not stopped the smuggling of these tortoises and other protected species like the sea cucumber, seahorse and pangolin, with south India becoming a hub for wildlife smugglers and Chennai serving as a transit point. According to WCCB officials, 83 cases of wildlife smuggling have been registered in the past three years, with 40 being filed in 2009-2010 and 24 each in 2010-2011 and 2011-2012 (till December, 2011).
Wildlife experts say demand for exotic species in countries like China, Malaysia and Vietnam, where parts of these animals are believed to have medicinal or aphrodisiacal properties, is driving the illegal trade that threatens to wipe out entire species. The hard, scale-covered skin of the Indian Pangolin is used in medicinal concoctions in China, Malaysia and Vietnam.
The pangolin, like other animals favoured by smugglers is a protected species under the Indian Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, and is on the red list of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature. Forest officials say traffickers also smuggle tiger skin, ornamental fish and snakes, including cobras, kraits and vipers. Officials say smugglers are coming up with novel ways to transport animals, often with little care for their safety.
"Animals are sometimes stuffed into boxes and are crushed to death," a WCCB official said. "Among the newer methods that smugglers are using include using lockets to conceal crocodile and snake skin. They also laminate insects and attach them to keychains or pass them off as lockets," said regional deputy director of WCCB, S Narayanan.
There have been instances of tortoises being smuggled out of the country in cardboard boxes, with their heads taped inside their shells. Rare lizards or insects are hidden in rolled-up socks in suitcases in flights, he said. Narayanan says WCCB works with various government agencies to prevent smuggling of animals. "The customs, police and forest departments work in coordination to stop animal smugglers," Narayanan said.
The tortoises were returned to the country and the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB) last Saturday handed them over to the Arignar Anna Zoological Park where they are being rehabilitated. The Indian star tortoise is a protected species and it is illegal to either possess or trade the reptile in the country.
This has not stopped the smuggling of these tortoises and other protected species like the sea cucumber, seahorse and pangolin, with south India becoming a hub for wildlife smugglers and Chennai serving as a transit point. According to WCCB officials, 83 cases of wildlife smuggling have been registered in the past three years, with 40 being filed in 2009-2010 and 24 each in 2010-2011 and 2011-2012 (till December, 2011).
Wildlife experts say demand for exotic species in countries like China, Malaysia and Vietnam, where parts of these animals are believed to have medicinal or aphrodisiacal properties, is driving the illegal trade that threatens to wipe out entire species. The hard, scale-covered skin of the Indian Pangolin is used in medicinal concoctions in China, Malaysia and Vietnam.
The pangolin, like other animals favoured by smugglers is a protected species under the Indian Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, and is on the red list of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature. Forest officials say traffickers also smuggle tiger skin, ornamental fish and snakes, including cobras, kraits and vipers. Officials say smugglers are coming up with novel ways to transport animals, often with little care for their safety.
"Animals are sometimes stuffed into boxes and are crushed to death," a WCCB official said. "Among the newer methods that smugglers are using include using lockets to conceal crocodile and snake skin. They also laminate insects and attach them to keychains or pass them off as lockets," said regional deputy director of WCCB, S Narayanan.
There have been instances of tortoises being smuggled out of the country in cardboard boxes, with their heads taped inside their shells. Rare lizards or insects are hidden in rolled-up socks in suitcases in flights, he said. Narayanan says WCCB works with various government agencies to prevent smuggling of animals. "The customs, police and forest departments work in coordination to stop animal smugglers," Narayanan said.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chennai/Chennai-hub-of-wildlife-racket/articleshow/12270567.cms
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