Guwahati: A joint team of the Assam Rifles and Mizoram forest department, on Thursday, nabbed two alleged wildlife smugglers in the northeast hill state’s Champhai district, bordering Myanmar, and rescued as many as 49 exotic wild animals from their possession. Based on specific information, troops of the Assam Rifles and personnel of the Champhai division of Mizoram forest department, while carrying out an operation, nabbed two individuals and rescued the exotic animals and birds.
The exotic animals were brought by the alleged wildlife smugglers in iron cages and plastic baskets from along the India-Myanmar border and were being transported to the state’s capital Aizawl.
The exotic animals and birds include 10 Solomons cockatoos, two mosque swallows, nine turtles, 10 snakes, 16 lizards, and two marmoset monkeys. The rescued animals and birds are estimated to be worth over Rs 68.40 lakh. The apprehended alleged wildlife smugglers have been identified as Vachonia, a resident of Tuipang town in Mizoram’s Siaha district and Vanlalthlana, hailing from the Zemabawk area of the state’s Aizawl district. Both the accused along with the rescued animals and birds were later handed over to the forest department, Champhai division, for further legal proceedings.
The Solomons cockatoo, also known as Ducorps’s cockatoo or Solomons corella, or broad-crested corella, is a species of cockatoo native to the Solomon Islands and characterised by its distinctive appearance with a broad and feathery crest on its head. The mosque swallow, larger than other swallows in size, is a resident breeder found primarily in sub-Saharan Africa and also common in the West. The marmoset monkey, also known as sagoin or zaris, is native to South America and also found in Colombia, Peru, Ecuador, Brazil, Paraguay and Bolivia, and occasionally spotted in Southern Mexico and Central America.
According to wildlife activists, the smuggling of exotic animals and birds to mainland India through the porous international borders of the northeast has been on the rise in the recent past. While the wildlife smugglers are sometimes nabbed and the animals rescued, on most occasions, the smugglers go undetected and succeed in transporting the animals to other parts of the country. The major cause of concern is these animals are brought without health screening and have the potential to spread zoonotic diseases.
The writer is a senior independent journalist covering the Northeast.
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