Kochi: The arrest of two Japanese nationals at Cochin international airport with exotic species of wildlife including live reptiles which were sourced by them from the Athirappilly forest area has brought into sharp focus the absence of surveillance and action on such activities in the forest area by the authorities.
“The Athirappilly-Vazhachal area is prone to various kinds of wildlife crimes including killing of wild elephants for tusks and the illegal capture and smuggling of various species of endangered reptiles. Local forest officers are inactive against such crimes. Eventhough the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau has an office at Kendriya Bhavan, Kakkanad, it is not equipped with any weaponry or communication or manpower to track these types of illegal wildlife crimes in various parts of Kerala’s forests,” said V K Venkitachalam, secretary, Heritage Animal Task Force, Thrissur. He has shot off a letter to the Prime Minister demanding an inquiry and steps to prevent the occurrence of such crimes.
Urgent steps must be taken to ensure the use of drones above deep forest areas of Kerala where thousands of acres were misused for the cultivation of ganja, he said.
Venkitachalam said though the Central Government had granted a helicopter to the Forest Department of the state, it had never been operated.
Meanwhile, a senior Wildlife Crime Control Bureau official said that the Kochi office of the Central Government organization had jurisdiction over all of south India but it was manned by just three inspectors. “We are definitely understaffed. Our job is collection of intelligence and giving inputs to the Kerala Forest Department in the case of Kerala. We periodically give inputs and it is for the Forest Department to take action. We do not have enough vehicles to go around,” said the official preferring anonymity.
