As the species is culled to cater to the food and medicine market, there is a glaring gap in enforcement of wildlife laws

If there was any doubt about man being the worst predatory species that is depleting animal life as we know it, digest this. At least, 200 freshwater turtles and tortoises per week have been poached in India to cater to the illegal gourmet food, live pet and medicine market since 2009, taking the number to a whopping 1,11,310 till September 2019. It is known that India is a major hotspot in illegal wildlife trade because even though it is only 2.4 per cent of the world’s land area, it contributes about eight per cent of known global wildlife. While the main consumer markets are China, South East Asia, the Gulf states, Europe and Northern America, what is alarming is that the domestic demand for exotic meat and pets is also growing. The size of seizures of Indian species within the country is indicative of a well-organised network of collectors, transporters and traffickers operating this trade. Another fact sheet showed how the Indian star tortoise, marked as a vulnerable species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, accounted for 49 per cent of the total reptiles seized and were high in demand by gourmets and mendicants. Most turtles and tortoise species of India are protected under various Schedules of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, under which hunting, trade or any other form of utilisation of the species or their body parts and derivatives is banned. All turtle and tortoise species from India are also listed under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) regulating their international trade.

But it’s not just these reptiles that are bearing the brunt of the flourishing illegal wildlife trade, some of the species and products incessantly poached and smuggled out of the country are tiger and leopard skins, their bones and other body parts, rhino horns, ivory, sea horses, snake venom, musk pods and rare birds. Despite laws, lack of awareness, anonymous e-commerce, greed and low-risk, high-reward opportunities fuel wildlife crime in the country. Also, in India like in many other countries, the problem is not of the laws but poor communication, implementation and enforcement. Arrests have hardly worked as a deterrent. So making laws is not enough, we need synergy between all law enforcement agencies. In addition to this, providing grant through National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) for patrolling in the tiger-rich sensitive forest, combing forest floors in order to keep a check on the snares for the animals by poachers, improved surveillance using thermal cameras are some of the measures needed on a larger scale.