9 cases of wildlife smuggling unearthed at Mumbai Airport in 6 months

Hindustan Times

7 days ago

MUMBAI: With nine cases of wildlife smuggling being unearthed at Mumbai Airport since February this year, the city, which was a major hub of this sort of contraband in the 1990s, is fast regaining the unsavoury title. Wildlife activists say that many more cases may have gone unnoticed. 9 cases of wildlife smuggling unearthed at Mumbai Airport in 6 months
From Meerkats to Star Tortoises and different kinds of lizards, all kinds of exotic species are being smuggled into Mumbai. The Customs department and Wildlife Crime Control Bureau have now taken the decision to immediately deport them after giving them the necessary medical care. An orangutan smuggled and found last year in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region is still in the Nagpur zoo.
Two of the largest seizures happened on July 10 and 11 when Meerkats, Sumatran Rabbits, Great-Billed Parrots and Indo-Chinese Box Turtles were confiscated at Mumbai Airport. The wildlife species were with two Indian passengers caught by Customs coming by two separate flights.
A senior Customs officer posted in Mumbai said, 'We nab such people on suspicion or when we have information. But these transporters are not the real brains behind the racket. They are merely poor people who carry them, and when we catch them, the court gives us custody for a day or two.'
In the 1990s, Mumbai was a prime centre for wildlife trade, with the forest department often making huge hauls such as 3,000 Star Tortoises at one time. Former principal chief conservator of forests (wildlife) Nitin Kakodkar worked as the deputy conservator of forests (wildlife) in the mid-1990s. The smuggling had stopped when he took over.
Kakodkar said that there were people in big cities who probably had a penchant for doing something out of the ordinary such as keeping exotic animals as pets. 'Much wider publicity is needed to curb this,' he said. 'People need to be made aware that this is a wildlife offence involving major punishment.'
Deputy director Yogesh Warkad of the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau pointed to the rising seriousness of the illegal trade, saying, 'It is very rare to see Meerkats smuggled here. But we saw these in our last raid. This kind of smuggling takes place on demand. Many of the smugglers get these exotic animals to breed them and sell the offspring. At times, they do business on WhatsApp, but if they use YouTube or Instagram to sell the animals, they get caught.'
Warkad said that in certain countries, there were very few restrictions on the sale of exotic animals or what is termed as wildlife in India. 'There is very little checking at Thai or Malaysian airports, but they are caught by Customs in Mumbai,' he said. 'As per our Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, the sale and trade of such wildlife is banned. Such trade is also banned as per the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora.'
Warkad said that the smugglers chose the air route for a reason. 'If the animals are sent by sea, it is not possible to feed them for so many days, and they die,' he said. 'Air is the quickest mode. Most of the trade comes from Bangkok, where there is no restriction on the sale of many exotic animals. The smugglers put the animals into their luggage, which is horrible. We deport 90 per cent of the wildlife, but some animals die.'
Wildlife experts expressed concern about the situation. Aneesh Andheria of the non-profit Wildlife Conservation Trust said, 'The pet trade of wildlife is highly injurious to global biodiversity, as in order to accomplish an order of one wild pet, seven to eight animals lose their life (in the trapping process or during transit). The recent spate of confiscations suggests that India is an important consumer country. However, there is enough evidence to show that many species of Indian wildlife from insects to reptiles to fish and carnivores are smuggled out in larger numbers.'
When the Customs department catches the traffickers , the animals are dehydrated or suffocated. To handle this, on most occasions the department calls Pawan Sharma of the Resqink Association for Wildlife Welfare (RAWW). 'Trafficking of exotic wildlife has been on the rise in recent years, especially after the amendment of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, in 2022, after which the non-native species listed in CITES were also included in Schedule IV,' he told Hindustan Times. 'These animals are stuffed into luggage, due to which many of them die of suffocation and many others are injured and infected. The harsh reality and cruelty behind the exotic wildlife we watch on social media and the internet is often unseen. As first respondents, we have seen animals covered with their own and other animals' faeces, suffocated in small containers, and distressed and injured.'
Sharma added that surprisingly, there was also a rise in wild-caught specimens rather than the bred species being smuggled. 'This is again a matter of great concern,' he said, 'and raises questions about the security and protection of these species in the wild.'