Common flights from south-east Asian international locations to Chennai make it troublesome to scan big cargo and passenger volumes. The airport accounted for 36.1% of all wildlife seizure incidents in Indian airports between 2011-2020.
The three-hour-21 minute Thai Airways flight TG-337 is the quickest approach out from Thailand’s capital Bangkok to Chennai, touchdown at midnight every day. The period of the flight, and the time of touchdown supplies the proper cowl to sneak in unique wildlife species like leopard cubs, marmosets, snakes and iguanas hid as stuffed toys of their checked-in baggage. The unique animals, reptiles and birds that escape enforcement channels feed a voracious starvation among the many wealthy and well-known in Chennai and different elements of Tamil Nadu who increase these non-native species as pets totally on their sprawling farmhouses, interviews with a number of stakeholders point out. Chennai additionally serves as a potential transit hub catering to the demand in different metros of India and Gulf international locations too, an individual with deep information of this wildlife trafficking commerce stated.
For greater than three years now, Customs officers at Chennai worldwide airport have repeatedly seized unique wildlife species from passengers, invariably disembarking from this flight, the most recent being on August 11. On June 29, two Indian girls on their method to Chennai had been arrested at Bangkok airport for carrying 109 animals together with porcupines, armadillos, turtles, lizards and snakes of their baggage. This has introduced Tamil Nadu’s capital international infamy as both a transit hub or a centre for commerce of illegally trafficked animals.
A examine accomplished by TRAFFIC, the worldwide NGO working to stop unlawful commerce in wildlife, in March 2022 discovered that Chennai worldwide airport accounted for 36.1% of all wildlife seizure incidents amongst Indian airports between 2011-2020. Mumbai was second, at lower than half (14.8%). TRAFFIC has additionally highlighted the Chennai airport as among the many prime airports in Asia the place reside animals are smuggled from or via. Officers say that as is with all smuggling, solely 10% is apprehended. There isn’t a official examine to confirm this accepted rule of thumb.
Ball pythons
Chennai is a most well-liked hub for this exercise for a number of causes; officers say that the town has an extended buying and selling historical past and established routes with south-east Asian international locations. The shoreline can also be developed with well-known touchdown spots; although the ocean route shouldn’t be most well-liked for wildlife trafficking as animals wouldn’t final the journey time. Nonetheless, plenty of common flights from south-east Asian international locations has made trafficking simple and fast and posed a problem to enforcement authorities who’ve scan big cargo and passenger volumes. A retired Customs official additionally identified that enforcement officers may not be skilled or sensitised in figuring out any such contraband.
In an e-mail interview emphasising this, Dilpreet Chhabra, from TRAFFIC’s India workplace stated {that a} USAID report in 2020 which analysed trafficking tendencies, recognized Chennai airport as a key vacation spot and origin level for traffickers. Chennai had additionally reported many seizures of wildlife derivatives like shark fins, seahorses and sea cucumbers from and to China, Malaysia, Thailand and UAE. Such is the demand for unique species that the particular person accustomed to the commerce stated the revenue margins are big. The animals purchased from Bangkok’s well-known weekend market price solely round Rs 10,000, however are offered for a number of lakhs every. The marmosets, colloquially often called ‘moonji korangu’ amongst Customs officers and smugglers, are offered as a pair for Rs 10 lakh.
Although the enterprise is profitable, it’s unlawful, however not as harmful. That is primarily on account of loopholes within the wildlife safety act and ‘airport setting’ which act as potent catalysts. A few of the most sought-after unique ‘pets’ are marmosets, iguanas, ball pythons (colored, albino and a black and white one which ‘resembles a chess board’), exotic-coloured birds like macaws and so forth. Amongst seizures made by Customs at Chennai are additionally a leopard cub, meerkats, tarantula spiders, De Brazza’s monkey and lizards.
Airport seizures are just one piece of this Chennai-sized jigsaw puzzle
Pattern this: in March 2021, Assam police arrested three males carrying eight silvery marmosets, two golden headed lion tamarin (each Amazon natives) and two Lutino Blue and Gold Macaw (vibrant parrots native to the Americas). One of many males was a resident of Ashok Nagar, Chennai. The monkeys and birds had been on their method to Chennai and had been introduced in from Imphal, ostensibly smuggled from throughout the land border in Myanmar.
In July this 12 months, Chennai Wildlife Warden E Prasanth informed The New Indian Categorical that round 1,300 unique animals had been declared by Chennai-based people – highest within the nation with Mumbai – on the Parivesh web site, a voluntary declaration scheme introduced by the Union Ministry of Atmosphere, Forest and Local weather Change. This got here up after Chennai-based activist Antony Rubin blew the whistle on an unique petting zoo on East Coast Highway (ECR) within the metropolis, which charged hefty charges from patrons to pet unique species of birds, reptiles and mammals.
“Pet commerce is demand pushed and such an inflow exhibits there’s a big demand. Loads of animal buying and selling occurs in Chennai, have a look at the Pallavaram (Friday) market. There may be poor consciousness amongst individuals as to which pets are wild and which will be domesticated,” Prasanth informed TNM. An individual accustomed to the commerce informed TNM why iguanas and marmosets are widespread amongst ‘pet lovers’; marmosets are playful, whereas iguanas can soar a number of metres throughout the room and land on one’s shoulder, he stated.
The modus operandi for smuggling animals
TNM interviewed two individuals accustomed to the commerce, who didn’t need to be recognized, to know the nitty-gritties. One among them has travelled with younger males working as wildlife carriers and recognized the precise bus quantity (route quantity 77) and cease that results in the weekend Chatuchak animal market in Bangkok, which is the place unique species are bought. These facilitating and co-ordinating the Bangkok a part of the deal are additionally from Chennai, in keeping with him.
As soon as handed over to the service, these animals or reptiles are given an anaesthetic injection, simply an hour or half-hour earlier than boarding for the flight. This places them to sleep inside checked-in baggage for six hours; simply sufficient to final the three-and-a-half-hour direct flight and different necessary checks at each airports. Authorities are informed that the motionless animals are stuffed toys. In case the dosage is powerful, animals can die. In reality, Customs officers repeatedly level out how the seized unique species are ‘severely’ dehydrated and feeding them is a serious job.
Albino Pacman frog
Again in Chennai, if the service is fortunate and delivers the parcel, he’s paid Rs 15,000-20,000 for a profitable journey; his bills in Bangkok are additionally taken care of. A retired Customs official stated these carriers are paid greater than those that herald gold. Some handlers even have Instagram accounts, via which they promote these trafficked unique species, the particular person accustomed to the commerce stated.
The useful authorized loophole and hazard of zoonotic ailments
A bust shouldn’t be a giant deal both for the carriers; if caught by Customs officers on the airport, they can’t be arrested, as these unique species aren’t listed underneath the Wildlife Safety Act, 1972, the legislation that stipulates penalty for these indulging in unlawful animal commerce in India. This was the authorized loophole utilized by the three males arrested by Assam police in March 2021, to finally get felony expenses towards them quashed by the Gauhati Excessive Courtroom.
The utmost that Customs officers can do is cost them for violation of the Directorate Normal of Overseas Commerce (DGFT) guidelines. Arrests can solely be made if the full worth of products is ascertained to be value greater than Rs 50 lakh, which is hard to calculate for unique species. The animals are despatched again instantly to the nation of import by the subsequent flight. A number of years earlier, some Customs officers expressed worry after they seized an African grey-horned snake from a Bangkok-returned passenger; it was a venomous snake and one official was frightened if anti-venom for that specific species of snake could be accessible, in case of an emergency.
Zakir Hussain, an advocate practising in Madras Excessive Courtroom who offers with smuggling associated circumstances, stated each passenger on the Chennai airport has to move via three scanners and hoodwink many officers from completely different businesses deployed there. “No one can escape from watchful eyes. So it’s apparent that trafficking shouldn’t be potential with out assist from some Customs officers,” he stated.
Uday Baskar, the Chennai Customs Commissioner (Airport) informed TNM that the function of Customs officers in such circumstances is dominated out. “Officers are rotated often as a safety measure. I’ve not come throughout any involvement of officers,” he stated, including that extra officers are placed on obligation to impact such seizures. The investigation of such trafficking circumstances was accomplished by the Wildlife Crime Management Bureau (WCCB), he stated, however no sample had but emerged. “The situations of wildlife trafficking circumstances have re-emerged after COVID-19. It’s based mostly on provide and demand. Unique species from Chennai have additionally been seized in Pune indicating that the market is large,” Uday Baskar stated.
Within the post-pandemic period, trafficking of unique species additionally raises the chance of zoonotic ailments. That is particularly when petting centres, just like the one in ECR, have come up, operating the chance of such ailments spreading from animals to people, Prasanth and Antony Rubin stated. This was echoed by Dilpreet Chhabra of TRAFFIC India too, quoting a examine which states that 60% of all rising infectious ailments all over the world are zoonotic in nature, transmissible from animals to people.
Inexperienced Iguana
Antony Rubin says this wants pressing consideration from the federal government and that they need to draft a separate Act which can make commerce in unique species unlawful underneath Indian legislation. Alternatively, the Conference on Worldwide Commerce in Endangered Species (CITES), a multilateral treaty which protects endangered crops and species, ought to be tailored into the Wildlife Safety Act, Antony says. “This could additionally make sure that infrastructure is created to take custody of those trafficked animals,” he stated.
Prasanth stated that the unlawful pet market is a topic that wants a critical examine as no one appears to have a clue. Uday Baskar stated that kids of right now have plenty of completely different concepts in terms of rearing pets. “This subject must be addressed at a societal degree. Individuals want to know that these animals aren’t pets and ought to be handled with respect,” he stated.
Parivesh is a approach in the direction of regulating the presence of unique species in our ecosystem, he stated. “Declaration is a step in the direction of bringing them into the mainstream. Unique animals are introduced up in a pathetic situation. Wings is perhaps clipped and they’re tamed to a big extent,” he stated. However even in that case, he questioned the place one might draw the road over import/trafficking of animals. A legislation on this regard is at the moment underneath dialogue of the Parliament and Union authorities, officers stated.
Siddharth Prabhakar is predicated in Chennai and has coated Larger Chennai Company, Railways, DVAC, CBI and different investigative businesses throughout his six-year stint in Instances of India and one-and-a-half years in The New Indian Categorical.
