Union environment minister Jairam Ramesh is to write to his civil aviation counterpart about private airlines being used for smuggling wildlife products.
Taking the complaint seriously, the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security asked the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau to give details so that action could be taken.
Despite the heightened security at airports, there have been several instances of airlines being used to transport wildlife products outside India.
Besides, the airlines, smuggling or trafficking of wildlife articles through Foreign Post Offices (FPO) is another strategy adopted by unscrupulous traders. The booking of postal parcels in fictitious name is very easy and the content isn’t verified at the receiving counter of the post office.
It is observed that small-size items of fauna and flora are traded through the FPO — dried snakes, fishes, sea shells, dried herbal plant products and other such small articles.
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The ministry is considering a suggestion to screen postal parcels and couriers and demand proof of identity. It is also planning to amend the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972, to address this.
The Act establishes the legal framework for protection and conservation of various species of plants and animals and the management of their habitats. India has 6.5 per cent of the world’s known wildlife species. The global demand for wildlife and its products puts at risk the diverse legacy in this regard.
Ramesh suggested pictures of offenders or convicts in wildlife crime be put up on his ministry’s website.
The government had constituted a statutory body, the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau, in 2007, by amending the 1972 Act.
The meeting also discussed instances of smuggling of endangered species across the borders with Tibet, Myanmar, Bangladesh and Nepal.
The minister released a manual on wildlife species in trade for use by enforcement agencies. It would help them to visually recognise contraband wildlife during inspections, surveillance and baggage screening.