Pangolin, ivory smuggling continues in Northeast

Staff Reporter

Guwahati: India is a major source as well as a transit and destination country for trafficked wildlife and wildlife products, with a large number of species illegally transported from and into the country, and the Northeast is fast becoming a focal point for this trade.

The most common wildlife and wildlife products that are often seized while being smuggled out of and through India are ivory, turtles and tortoises (especially the Indian star tortoise), and red sandalwood, along with pangolin scales and tiger parts, according to a source.

Of late, there has been a decline in poaching and rhino horn trading from India, especially from Assam, and the rhino population is increasing in Kaziranga National Park, the primary home of the one-horned rhino in the country. However, the Northeast is fast becoming a major hub for pangolin poaching and trafficking. The trade in tiger parts also seems to be continuing unabated, and several seizures have been made in the region in recent times.

Wildlife parts trafficking in rhino horns, tiger parts, and pangolin scales is more rampant on the Indo-Nepal and Indo-Myanmar-China borders, with Northeastern cities such as Dimapur, Guwahati, and Imphal being used as transit sites. Trafficking of birds and reptiles along the India-Bangladesh border is also rampant, sources revealed.

In Assam, pangolin hunting is done primarily by local tribes. They eat the meat and sell the scales, and this once-abundant animal in the state is now becoming 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, sources said.

Along with these, wildlife trafficking has expanded to include the trade in body parts of golden jackals, Asiatic black bears, leopards, and mongooses for use in traditional medicine, both in the country and out of it.

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 some zoos are also alleged to be involved in illegally buying exotic animals. Several seizures in recent times and the arrest of smugglers revealed that the Northeast remains the preferred transit point for wildlife smuggling from Myanmar, Thailand, and other southeast Asian countries.

The fight against the illegal wildlife trade has become increasingly difficult. Amongst these are factors like the porous international borders in the Northeast with China, Myanmar, and other Southeast Asian countries, a growing aviation sector, and the use of social media as an online marketplace by wildlife traffickers.

Also Read: Assam: 24th Bn SSB Rangiya seized elephant ivory and pickup van loaded with wooden logs (sentinelassam.com)

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