Chennai continues to be a transit point for illegal wildlife and animal trade.
Picture used for representational purpose. (Photo: DC/File)
Chennai: Besides gold and drug seizures, Chennai also continues to be a transit point for illegal wildlife and animal trade.
In most of the cases, the consignment is handed over to the state wildlife department and in case of animals that are endemic, they are released into either the wild or housed at the Arignar Anna zoological park at Vandalur.
In case of costly Arowana and other ornamental fish, they are deported back to the country from where they arrived, Chennai customs sources said. Most of these fish die during their arrival and when they are deported, more than 90 per cent die.
With bio virus threat and zoonotic diseases making the rounds, exotic animals are deported immediately. Only if there is a quarantine certificate, such animals are accepted in our soil after examination, a customs source said.
“In the past seven months, about a dozen cases related to flora and fauna have been booked from Chennai airport. In case of timber like red sanders, even Chinese personnel have been detained and then released after imposing fines. In the case of star tortoises and seahorses, cases are registered under wildlife protection Act and court trials are conducted,” said forest ranger David Raj, wildlife rescue headquarters, Velachery.
Most of the dead products related to wildlife are destroyed after the magistrate trials are over and proof of destroying such seized products is also submitted to the court, he said.
“Of course, there is import of exotic birds and if there is no proper quarantine certificate or if there is any cruelty during the transit, the birds can also be seized by the animal welfare board of India for further action,” said a life member of Madras SPCA.
( Source : dc )
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