23 Jun 2009, 1317 hrs IST, PTI (Archana Jyoti)
NEW DELHI: They may not abound in numbers but exist they do in many cities, doing good business with local as well as foreign clientele, most of it illegally. Waking up to this menace of pet shops operating illegally, Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB) has now asked the state governments to chalk out a policy to register dealers engaged in pet trade, selling domestic birds and animals across the country. "We have asked the chief wildlife wardens of all the states and civic agencies to regulate the dealers involved in the business of selling domestic animals and birds," says Ramesh Pandey, a senior official with WCCB. He knows better. Just a few months ago, the Bureau had unearthed an illegal pet trade racket and seized four live Indian Tent turtles from Gurgaon and arrested a person in this connection. The accused, Rittin Mehrotra, a resident of Dhankot in Gurgaon, was allegedly running his pet business for many years. The WCCB officials came to know that some of his pets allegedly included exotic and endangered species which are protected under Indian law. Indian Tent turtle are listed in the schedule one of the Wildlife Protection Act 1972. Being small and having very beautiful shells, they are traded as pets in the country as well as in the international market. Besides, turtles, the enforcement official said much of the pet trade is dominated by reptiles and exotic birds and an increasing trend exists to meet the demand of specialist collectors for some of the world's rarest species. In the garb of selling muniyas which are allowed for trade under law, the dealers are making the protected species such as Straw-headed Bulbul Pycnonotus zeylanicus, Palm Cockatoo Probosciger atterrimus, tortoises and freshwater turtles (Indian Star Tortoise Geochelone elegans, and the Pignosed Turtle Carretochelys insculpta), snakes or lizards, available to customers at exorbitant prices. The global demand is huge and hence trade is flourishing, threatening the renowned biodiversity hotspots in South-east Asia - as well as rising demand from countries within South-east Asia for endemic species from Africa, South America and Australasia. A report by Traffic International, the wildlife trade monitoring network, dwells in detail how freshwater turtles and tortoises in Southeast Asia is fuelling rampant illegal trade in the pet markets of Indonesia. Terming the trend as a serious threat to the wildlife, Sameer Sinha from Traffic India said, "The pet trade is mostly in unorganised sector with no guidelines and regulations. Since wildlife trade is not allowed under Wildlife Protection Act, the civic agencies can register the pet dealers under Shops and Eastablishment Act to ensure a comprehensive policy. WCCB move is welcome in this direction." All the enforcement agencies should have the list of such dealers so that their activities are under scanner and can also also act as a deterrent, he added. Ashok Kumar, Vice-Chairman of Wildlife Trust of India added, "in the garb of pet trade, several threatened and endemic species are being smuggled outside and in the country. Various districts of Uttar Pradesh have become the hub of dealers engaged in sale and purchase of birds and turtles while authorities such as railways and police are just sleeping over the matter, Kumar added. "It's time we understood and recognised that all wildlife are protected species and buying them and keeping them without permission is illegal. Anybody who spots a turtle in a shop must immediately report this. Thousands of Starred Tortoises are smuggled out of India to be kept as pets. Their shells are also used to make ashtrays and trays," Kartick Satyanarayan, member, advisory board, Wildlife Crime Control Bureau, said.
NEW DELHI: They may not abound in numbers but exist they do in many cities, doing good business with local as well as foreign clientele, most of it illegally. Waking up to this menace of pet shops operating illegally, Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB) has now asked the state governments to chalk out a policy to register dealers engaged in pet trade, selling domestic birds and animals across the country. "We have asked the chief wildlife wardens of all the states and civic agencies to regulate the dealers involved in the business of selling domestic animals and birds," says Ramesh Pandey, a senior official with WCCB. He knows better. Just a few months ago, the Bureau had unearthed an illegal pet trade racket and seized four live Indian Tent turtles from Gurgaon and arrested a person in this connection. The accused, Rittin Mehrotra, a resident of Dhankot in Gurgaon, was allegedly running his pet business for many years. The WCCB officials came to know that some of his pets allegedly included exotic and endangered species which are protected under Indian law. Indian Tent turtle are listed in the schedule one of the Wildlife Protection Act 1972. Being small and having very beautiful shells, they are traded as pets in the country as well as in the international market. Besides, turtles, the enforcement official said much of the pet trade is dominated by reptiles and exotic birds and an increasing trend exists to meet the demand of specialist collectors for some of the world's rarest species. In the garb of selling muniyas which are allowed for trade under law, the dealers are making the protected species such as Straw-headed Bulbul Pycnonotus zeylanicus, Palm Cockatoo Probosciger atterrimus, tortoises and freshwater turtles (Indian Star Tortoise Geochelone elegans, and the Pignosed Turtle Carretochelys insculpta), snakes or lizards, available to customers at exorbitant prices. The global demand is huge and hence trade is flourishing, threatening the renowned biodiversity hotspots in South-east Asia - as well as rising demand from countries within South-east Asia for endemic species from Africa, South America and Australasia. A report by Traffic International, the wildlife trade monitoring network, dwells in detail how freshwater turtles and tortoises in Southeast Asia is fuelling rampant illegal trade in the pet markets of Indonesia. Terming the trend as a serious threat to the wildlife, Sameer Sinha from Traffic India said, "The pet trade is mostly in unorganised sector with no guidelines and regulations. Since wildlife trade is not allowed under Wildlife Protection Act, the civic agencies can register the pet dealers under Shops and Eastablishment Act to ensure a comprehensive policy. WCCB move is welcome in this direction." All the enforcement agencies should have the list of such dealers so that their activities are under scanner and can also also act as a deterrent, he added. Ashok Kumar, Vice-Chairman of Wildlife Trust of India added, "in the garb of pet trade, several threatened and endemic species are being smuggled outside and in the country. Various districts of Uttar Pradesh have become the hub of dealers engaged in sale and purchase of birds and turtles while authorities such as railways and police are just sleeping over the matter, Kumar added. "It's time we understood and recognised that all wildlife are protected species and buying them and keeping them without permission is illegal. Anybody who spots a turtle in a shop must immediately report this. Thousands of Starred Tortoises are smuggled out of India to be kept as pets. Their shells are also used to make ashtrays and trays," Kartick Satyanarayan, member, advisory board, Wildlife Crime Control Bureau, said.
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