HYDERABAD: Exotic birds, animals, reptiles and fishes are openly sold in Hyderabad and are also being bred by some people. Nowadays, advertisements are also posted on e-commerce websites where exotic species are sold.
While the business of exotic pets goes on, the forest department officials say there is nothing much they can do to crackdown on the traders or buyers of exotic species.
The reason: lack of any law in India that provides protection to exotic species. Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 protects only Indian species.
This is one of the reasons Telangana forest department officials have cited for not taking any initiative to rescue the exotic birds and animals which were found in the house of Mohammed Rafeeq during police cordon and search operations on Thursday. A forest department official said, “The police have not sent us a written communication asking for our help.
We cannot go ourselves and take action as there is no law that gives us the powers to do so.”
The government is yet to pass the amended version of Wildlife Protection Act that provides protection to exotic species and also curbs on wildlife trade even though it was introduced in the Rajya Sabha in 2013.
The only law that can come to rescue of exotic wildlife in India are some clauses under Customs Act, 1962 but proving smugglers guilty and penalising them is difficult through it.
As per the existing laws, a person has to first get permission from chief wildlife warden of the state, get clearance from Wildlife Crime Control Bureau, obtain import license from DG of Foreign Trade and get permission from Ministry of Animal Husbandry.
While there are many people breeding and selling exotic wildlife species in Hyderabad, as per Telangana forest department officials no permission was granted by the office of chief wildlife warden for importing live animals in the past few years.
One senior forest department official said, “Even if we confiscate an animal and catch hold of someone possessing exotic animal, our case will prove weak in the court as we do not have any legal backing. The maximum we can do is provide a home to the rescued exotic animal.”