Silchar: In a major drive against illegal trafficking of wildlife, the forest officials in Assam's Barak Valley have seized and rescued a consignment of a kangaroo, six Macaw parrots, three tortoises and two monkeys.
Officials said that the exotic species of animals and birds were seized during a routine checking at Lalipur forest by a sub beat officer and the consignment was on its way to Guwahati from Mizoram. The animals were routed to Mizoram from Myanmar.
"We intercepted a truck bearing registration No.TS 08 UB 1622 coming from Mizoram side around midnight on Tuesday. There was a foul smell emanating from the truck and the driver told that there were some fruits in the truck and that some of them must have been rotten, hence, the foul smell. However, when we checked the truck, we found a kangaroo, six Macaw parrots, three tortoises and two monkeys - all caged in plastic cage and paper cartoons," said D. Deori, Range officer of Dholai forest range.
He added that two persons named Narsimha Reddy and Navnath Tukaram Daigude have been detained.
"In the course of interrogation, they revealed to the forest personnel that the consignment was headed to Guwahati," he said adding that steps had already been taken to ascertain the health condition of the animals and birds.
"In the backdrop of novel coronavirus pandemic and its connection to wet markets, it’s high time we put an end to illegal practices of keeping exotic species as pets and refrain from illegal wildlife trade. Let them live in their natural habitats," said Deori.
In its first global report on the illegal wildlife trade, released a week ago, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) described wildlife trafficking as a “global threat”, which also has links with other organised crimes such as modern slavery, drug trafficking and arms trade.
