CHENNAI: About 171 star tortoises that were about to be smuggled abroad were seized by DRI officials, while customs officials seized two consignments with exotic pets such as mangabeys, pythons and marmosets in two different incidents. All these were reported in the past 50 days this year. Undeterred, the smugglers could now be working on their next bid, bolstered by the lenient handling of the trade by the authorities.
When contacted, Customs officials say they have not made any decision to hand over the smugglers to the state police for action. City police officials too say that they have not received any communique or held discussions with the central revenue agencies about the trend.
In the absence of stringent action against those involved in the trade, the smugglers go about their business with nothing to fear. The first seizure in the Chennai airport this year was a huge haul of 45 varieties of ball pythons, three pigmy mormosets and eight corn snakes. But there was a follow-up action by the customs department to ascertain who smuggled the species into the country. The species were sent back to Thailand.
The aspect that the authorities could not fix value for such pets like commodities gives the smugglers a leeway to escape the clutches of law. They go scot-free even as the exotic pet trade is a thriving market with the animals being sold for thousands and even lakhs of rupees in cases of rare species. In 2022, customs officials alone made 11 seizures of exotic pets, including albino porcupine, tamarin and de brazza monkeys. The shorter travel period and affordable fares, coupled with demand, make the Chennai airport a hotspot for the illegal trade. Most of the pets are smuggled from Bangkok. From Chennai, they are taken to other states too.
Antony Rubin, an animal activist, says it's not just protecting the species, but there is a human context to it as well which makes prevention of smuggling of exotic pets crucial. "The animals are stressed during such transportation by the smugglers, which eventually leads to spread of infectious diseases," he says.