Wildlife Want: by Oinam Sunanda Devi

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Link: http://www.assamtribune.com/hori.html

 

Wildlife Want by Oinam Sunanda Devi

 

Wildlife crime or illegal wildlife trade are two important terms which

need our concern in the present day scenario. But before we discuss

about the wildlife crime first we must know what exactly this wildlife

means. `Wildlife' is defined as all the free living and free ranging

plants and animals which are found in wild i.e. animals which have no

fixed boundary. There is a popular misconception that `wildlife'

refers only to mammals and birds or according to some, only to large

mammals, but on the contrary, the definition embraces all the life

forms that are wild such as any animal, bees, butterflies, crustacean,

fishes, moths and aquatic or land vegetation, etc. Wildlife has been

the backbone of human life sustenance from time immemorial. From a

long time man has thoughtlessly engaged in the act of borrowing

without much consideration to the aspect of protection and

replenishment. Today, the wildlife population of the world is

declining at an alarming rate leading to the extinction of a large

number of plant and animal species. The main cause of the depletion of

wildlife population is habitat destruction but next to habitat loss,

trade in wildlife is also a major problem that affects the survival of

flora and fauna in recent times. The trade in wildlife and

wildlife-related products is a booming business, nowadays, estimated

to be worth billions of dollars and involving hundreds of millions of

plants and animals every year. Wildlife trade refers to the sale and

exchange of wild animals and plants, and products made from them. It

fetches staggering profits for people who are involved in this trade.

While most of the trade is legal, a substantial portion of it is not.

From small time poaching and hunting, it has grown into a well

organized sophisticated network of racketeers across the world, who

carry out a trade ring worth an estimated 6 to 20 billion dollars

worldwide, second only to the narcotics (drugs) trade in magnitude.

 

Thus wildlife crime is contravening any domestic or international law

concerning wildlife, be it by poaching for food or fun or by killing

to supply an illegal wildlife trade or by possessing illegal material

or smuggling it across borders. Killing most species of wildlife is a

crime, if it feeds into a large illegal global racket. Poaching and

smuggling wildlife must be given the priority that other heinous

crimes are accorded.

 

Although wildlife conservation in India dates back more than 2,000

years, the fact that India plays an important role in the trade in

wild animals and plants was not generally known till even 20 years

ago. But India is an importer, exporter and a conduit for wildlife

that enters the $25 billion annual global trade. In response to these,

the Government of India has set its policy tone and made its laws

quite unambiguously. Most wild animals in India are protected and it

is a crime to kill any of them with the exception of rats, mice, crows

and fruit bats as these species are considered as pests and are not

protected by any law. Many plants are also protected by law. Export

and import of wild animals and their products are prohibited and the

same is true for more than 40 species of plants. India controls

wildlife crime through three primary legislations: the Wildlife

Protection Act, 1972, the Customs Act, 1962 and the Export-Import

Policy. Apart from this, a few other Acts are also passed by the

Indian government for conservation of wildlife.

 

But despite all these laws and policies, the illegal trade in

wildlife continues to flourish. Just as mere laws do not bring down

the incidence of heinous crimes in society, the poaching of animals,

uprooting of plants and their subsequent trade also has to be dealt

within their field. The illegal wildlife trade is one of the primary

threats to a large number of species. Since 1970, for instance, more

than 90 per cent of the world's rhinos have disappeared, slaughtered

by the thousands for one primary reason, their magnificent horns.

Likewise, many elephants were also killed for their valuable tusk.

 

Illegal wildlife trade can be at local village level, regional,

retail and wholesale levels or international import and export levels.

A wildlife criminal may, therefore, be a villager or a wealthy

international smuggler. These distinctions are important while

enforcing the law as the latter often gets away at the expense of the

former.

 

The global wildlife trade includes primates, ivory from African

elephants, orchids, live birds, reptile skins, butterflies, animal

furs and tropical fish etc. The Convention on International trade in

Endangered species of wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), an international

regulating body covering most of the countries in the world, provides

mechanisms to regulate the trade in wildlife. Under its guidance

government all over the world have taken steps to prevent this illegal

trade and bring it under control. The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) also

plays an important role in fighting this menace, most significantly

through TRAFFIC — the world's largest wildlife trade monitoring network.

 

The United States is the largest consumer of wildlife in the world.

Now, the pressure is high in India, home to several mega species such

as the tiger, elephant, rhino, snow-leopard and musk deer which are

highly valued in the trade, has consequently become a crucial target.

In order to meet the increasing demands of wildlife products in

foreign countries several species of animals and plants have been

killed or destroyed in India every year causing rapid decline in their

population. What's worse, many of them are even on the verge of

extinction.

 

Some of the wild animals and plants which are most sought after in

this trade are listed below:

* Tiger: There has been a 95 per cent decline in tiger population in

the 20th century. Tigers are killed mainly for their bones, skin, meat

and blood.

* Leopard: Like tiger, leopard is also a much priced animal for its

skin, bone, meat, etc. As a result their number has declined

drastically over the past few years.

* Asian elephant: Elephants are poached for their magnificent tusks.

Among the Asian elephants, only the males have tusks and so, males are

hunted more than females. And the result, the male-female ratio in

elephant population in some parts of south India has become 1:100 that

normally should be 1:3 or 1:4.

* One-horned rhino: This animal is now on the endangered list mainly

due to the trade in its horn. The rhino horn fetches around Rs 2 lakh

in India and much more in the international market.

* Musk deer: The musk deer are found in the Himalayan regions and are

hunted for musk or kasturi which is a very expensive natural perfume

fixative. It is also used in Asian medicines.

* Bear: The Himalayan black bear and sloth bear are commonly killed

for their gall bladder which is used in oriental medicines for

digestive disorders.

* Tibetan antelope or chiru: This deer is mainly hunted for its down

wool (shahtoosh), meat and horns. Shahtoosh means `king of wool'. It

is the finest natural fibre in the world. The shahtoosh shawls made

from down wool of chiru fetches about Rs 50,000 to Rs 1 lakh depending

upon the workmanship.

* Snakes: Snakes such as ratsnake, cobra, viper, keelback and python

are hunted for their magnificent skins which fetch a good price in

foreign markets.

* Live birds: There are approximately 500 Indian bird species in the

trade. Many of them are caught for food, while some are for keeping as

pets, for zoos, for use in medicine, for ornamental purposes, for

sport and for religious reasons. Species like ducks and geese,

parakeets, pheasants, hornbills, flamingos, owls, bulbul, etc suffer

the most and their number is declining.

* Turtles and tortoises: Turtles and tortoises are mainly hunted for

their shells. Some of them, like the olive ridley turtle found in

south India, are on the verge of extinction.

* Corals: Corals are the skeleton of marine animals which are used as

decorations as well as cut and polished to make jewellery, vases,

statues, etc. Corals like acropora, pocillopora, blue corals,

gorgonian corals have been exploited over the past few years.

* Butterflies and moths: These are traded as dead or live specimens.

Of the millions of butterflies and moths that enter the trade, the

most common is the swallowtail family. Birdwing butterflies are the

largest of all butterflies that fetch record price.

* Medicinal plants: Of the 2,500 species of medicinal plants in

India, 150 are used commercially and at least 2,000 in traditional

medicines. Species like rosy periwinkle, foxglobe, rauwolfia root,

yam, Indian nard, etc are much exploited for their medicinal values.

* Ornamental plants: Orchids such as Paphiopedilium rothschildianum,

the rarest orchid in the world, can fetch whopping prices on the

international market. Species such as ladies slipper, red and blue

vandae are worth a mention in this trade and are much exploited. Of

the three million orchids that enter the global market annually, half

are obtained from the wild.

* Ornamental fish and molluscs: Ornamental fish are the most popular

pets in USA. Ornamental fish and molluscs are not protected under

Indian law although the CITES appendices list some of the more

commonly traded species. Fish species like guppies, the Asian

bonytongue and molluscan shells like the turban shell and top shell

are very much exploited for this trade.

 

Despite all the laws and Acts on wildlife this illegal wildlife trade

is still continuing to flourish because the demand from consumers is

so high that many people are benefiting from this trade. So who are

these consumers? We, yes we are responsible for the destruction of our

natural resources. We have thoughtlessly overexploited the gift of

nature in order to meet our selfish demands. Only we can stop this

illegal wildlife trade by changing our habits. Although old habits die

hard, we must give at least a try.

 

Awareness programmes on the use of wildlife products and its impact

on the wildlife species must be taken up in villages so that local

people must understand the importance of wildlife and its relationship

with mankind. It will be helpful for controlling the poaching and

hunting activities in villages and also finding an alternative means

of earning a livelihood for those in this illegal trade.

 

If we do not encourage the wildlife products, their trade will also

automatically decline. Remember, whenever you purchase a shahtoosh

shawl many innocent Tibetan antelopes are killed for it. We must

always remember that human beings and wildlife are interconnected; if

something happens to one species, it will affect the existence of the

other species. Thus, with each species disappearing, mankind is moving

closer to their doomsday. Now, the choice lies upon us...

 

Oinam Sunanda Devi