New Delhi: Even as India continues to make conservation efforts on iconic animals such as tigers and elephants, scores of the country’s lesser-known species are vanishing from the wild.
“The problem is that we are turning a blind eye to all lesser-known species,” says Belinda Wright, director of the Wildlife Protection of India (WPI), an advocacy group. “And suddenly this very lucrative trade has been allowed to explode,” she adds.
Wildlife specialists say the growing affluence of China and Southeast Asian countries have helped drive the demand for exotic birds.
“While some are kept as pets, others are consumed for their purported medicinal properties. Also, eating the flesh of rare species is considered an aphrodisiac and serving the same to guests is considered a status symbol.”
Hooves, skins, bones, feathers and tusks from over one hundred animals are considered important ingredients in the preparation of supposedly curative and preventive medicines. The “medicines” are used for gastric problems, respiratory therapy, rheumatic and other pains.
In an article, former federal minister and animal rights activist Maneka Gandhi, mentioned, “We criticise Chinese traditional medicine for using animals and smuggling a large numbers from India to fulfil these needs — from bears, tigers and scorpions. But we do exactly the same thing in our so-called Indian traditional medicines.”
The Indian pangolin, a scaly critter, and the star tortoise, a popular pet, are among species that are being killed or smuggled in increasing numbers.
According to the WPI study, “The pangolin trade was once obscure in India, with an average of only about three a year reportedly killed by poachers between 1990 and 2008. But it soared to an average of more than 320 per year from 2009 to 2013.”
The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) estimated that more than a million pangolins were poached from habitats in Asia and Africa. The IUCN Red List, considered the most comprehensive in the world, listed 374 species in India that are vulnerable and 274 others that are endangered, or critically endangered and at risk of becoming extinct.
Similarly, the 2012 Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) data revealed the rapid decrease in suitable habitat across India that resulted in the addition of 253 new wildlife species in the endangered list in just two years.
The number of endangered species in 2010 was 190, which jumped sharply to 443 in 2012. The ZSI list was split in five categories: mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians and fish. Of these, birds were hardest hit with 139 species on the list in 2012 — up from 57 in 2010.
The experts said that ZSI, an institution that is over 100 years old, is riddled with malaise and has failed to conduct surveys of endangered species, which was its primary objective. They also blamed lack of knowledge among customs officials and border guards about the species they are supposed to protect and make efforts to stop the illegal trade.
Similarly, every year, hundreds of dolphin, crocodile, bustard, rhinoceros, black buck, wild ass, wild dog, nilgiri langur (a type of monkey), red panda and lizards are poached and an estimated 700,000 birds are illegally trapped and about 70,000 of sharks are caught, yet the levels of exploitation on these species have been going unnoticed.
