Beyond Tigers: Wildlife Trade Fueled by Pets and Myths
UPSC / SSC current affairs note · IR
Why in news
A recent joint operation by CBI, DRI, and WCCB recovered 53 protected animals and birds from Maharashtra and West Bengal, highlighting the shift of wildlife trafficking from physical markets to online platforms. This enforcement success underscores a conservation crisis involving lesser-known species often overlooked by the public.
Background
Wildlife trafficking has traditionally focused on high-profile species like tigers and elephants. However, demand for exotic pets and traditional beliefs has fueled trade in lesser-known species such as shikras, slow lorises, and binturongs. The trade has increasingly moved online, making detection and enforcement more challenging.
Key facts
A joint operation by CBI, DRI, and WCCB recovered 53 protected animals and birds from Maharashtra and West Bengal.
The haul included 15 slow lorises, 2 binturongs, 28 star tortoises, 6 Egyptian vultures, and 2 shikras.
Six people were arrested in connection with an alleged interstate wildlife-trafficking syndicate.
A 2020 study of Facebook groups in Thailand recorded 396 raptors and owls offered for sale between Feb 2015 and Jun 2019, including nine shikras.
Wild birds, including chicks taken from nests, were being offered online; one juvenile shikra was explicitly advertised as wild-caught.
Slow lorises are vulnerable to the exotic-pet trade due to their large eyes and gentle movements, often used in videos and tourist photos.
Studies show that nocturnal slow lorises exposed to bright lights and flash photography can suffer disrupted activity patterns and eye damage.
The trade has moved from traditional markets to online platforms like social media and private messaging.
Prelims pointers
- Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB)
- Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI)
- Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI)
- Shikra (Accipiter badius)
- Slow loris (Nycticebus spp.)
- Binturong (Arctictis binturong)
- Indian star tortoise (Geochelone elegans)
- Egyptian vulture (Neophron percnopterus)
- Wildlife Protection Act, 1972
- CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora)
Mains angles
- GS3: Environment and Biodiversity - Discuss the shift of wildlife trafficking to online platforms and its implications for conservation.
- GS3: Security - Role of enforcement agencies like CBI, DRI, and WCCB in combating wildlife crime.
- GS2: Governance - Effectiveness of laws like Wildlife Protection Act in addressing emerging challenges.
- GS3: Economy - Link between demand for exotic pets and illegal trade; economic incentives for poaching.