From kangaroos to giant tortoises, the rise in the smuggling of exotic animals in India

On 1 April, forest officials from West Bengal’s Baikunthapur forest division went into a tizzy when they were told they had to rescue kangaroos. They saved three kangaroos spotted on the outskirts of Siliguri. That was not all. The next day, a carcass of another kangaroo, suspected to belong to the same group, was found in a locality outside the city.

Kangaroos are not found in India. These large mammals are found only in Australia and New Guinea. So how did they get to West Bengal?

Smuggling racket

The animals definitely did not hop across the continent and they did not escape from a zoo.

Forest officials suspect they were part of a smuggling racket and the animals were being transported from the Northeast to some other part of the country. The marsupials were reportedly smuggled into the country from Myanmar but were released to evade arrests.

While the dead kangaroo was sent for postmortem, the three others, all sub-adults, have been sent to the Bengal Safari Park for treatment.

“The three kangaroos will be kept in quarantine at the safari park. Later, we will decide whether they will be kept at the park or sent to the Alipore zoo in Calcutta,” a forest official told Telegraph.

A state government probe has been ordered to look into the case.

Not the first case of kangaroo smuggling

This is not the first time forest officials in West Bengal have spotted kangaroos. In March, a kangaroo was rescued from a goods vehicle in West Bengal’s Alipurduar district. Two persons from Hyderabad were arrested for allegedly being involved in the trafficking of the animal.

In July 2020, Assam forest department personnel seized a red kangaroo near the Assam-Mizoram border.

Trafficking giant tortoises, iguanas, and more

There’s a rise in cases of exotic animals being smuggled into India. And kangaroos are one among the many species that are falling prey to illegal trade.

When the Assam forest officials found the red kangaroo, it was not the only animal at the back of the intercepted truck. Six hyacinth macaws, two capuchin monkeys from South America, and three Aldabra giant tortoises were also found packed in plastic and cartons.

Last March, the Assam police found macaws, silvery marmosets, and golden-headed tamarin – all exotic animals, usually found in the Amazon rainforest in Brazil – while conducting routine checks in the state’s Golaghat district.

The police suspected that the animals were smuggled into the country via the Myanmar border in Moreh.

Over the last two years, various exotic animals have been rescued in the northeastern state like leopard tortoise, red-footed tortoise, yellow, orange and green iguana, bearded dragon and albino iguana, and red-eared guenon, a primate found in Africa. Around 30 exotic birds were found.

Aldabra giant tortoises and iguanas are trafficked into India. Image used for representational purpose. AFP

The rise in the illegal trade of exotic animals

Smuggling in India Report 2019-2020, published by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence two years ago, acknowledged that the demand for exotic species in India has increased, reports Scroll in.

“Since there is a complete ban on trade in Indian species, the interest of the smugglers has shifted to exotic species, which has led to disastrous global environmental consequences,” it said. “The long international border and air routes are used to source consignments from Bangkok, Malaysia and other tourist destinations in Southeast Asia as well as from Europe, from where they are sent to major cities like Kolkata, Chennai, Hyderabad, Delhi, Bengaluru, Mumbai and Kochi.”

India, a hub for illegal wildlife trade

India is among the top 20 countries for illegal wildlife trade. “People with disposable income are acquiring these animals for fun or to show off in their private collection,” Saket Badola, country head of TRAFFIC India, a wildlife trade monitoring network told Scroll.in.

“India is becoming a global destination of exotic pets,” Jose Louies, the joint director of the Wildlife Trust of India’s Wildlife Crime Control Division told The Wire Science. “The northeastern border is the most preferred route for smuggling.”

The animals are also smuggled into the country from airports. Chennai and Mumbai airports act as key destinations and origin points for traffickers, according to a Mongabay-India report. Flyers often smuggle animals in check-in and hand baggage.

“Tortoises urinate when they are scared or jerked. To avoid dealing with the mess of 200-300 tortoises urinating during a 3-6 hour flight, the smugglers often wrap the inner part of the suitcase with diapers,” M Maranko, regional deputy director of the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (western region), told Mongabay-India. Other creatures like rodents and monkeys are hidden in baskets between chocolate boxes, or sea horses in ziplock bags, the report said.

Government action

In June 2020, the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change issued an advisory offering amnesty to Indians who have exotic species in their possession without documentation. It applied to plants and animals that were moved away from their native region. Parrots, cockatiels, macaws, and lovebirds are some of the most sought-after exotic live species, the disclosures indicate, according to a report in IndiaSpend.

More than 32,000 private individuals from 25 states and five Union territories, said they possessed such animals.

With inputs from agencies

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