Despite pandemic and lockdowns, illegal hunting and trade in wildlife continued across India, shows report 

Out of 522 reports of wildlife poaching and trade in 2020 across the country, 51 are from Karnataka

As many as 51 incidents of illegal wildlife trade were reported from Karnataka during 2020. Overall, 173 incidents were documented from southern States - Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana - in the year, a new analysis of data has found. 

The report, ‘“Wildlife Poaching and Illegal Trade in India: 2020’ by the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) - India, which aims at providing a comprehensive overview of illegal wildlife trade in India for 2020, is an assessment of data collected through publicly available online open-source newspaper articles carried out by our Counter Wildlife Trafficking (CWT) team.

“We documented 522 unique reports of wildlife poaching and trade in 2020 from India. We came across the maximum number of events involving ungulates (89 incidents), followed by big cats (82 incidents), pangolins (72 incidents), tortoises and freshwater turtles (61 incidents), elephants (57 incidents), red sandalwood (52 incidents), other reptiles (49 incidents), birds (37 incidents), marine wildlife (35 incidents), other mammals (34 incidents), uncategorized (17 incidents), non-native wildlife (13 incidents), and rhinos (9 incidents),” the report said, adding that the number of documented incidents from media reports suggests that despite the pandemic and the related lockdowns, illegal hunting and trade in wildlife continued across India. 

Nirmal Kulkarni, Senior Consultant, Counter Wildlife Trafficking Programme, Wildlife Conservation Society - India, said although some of these are truly hotspots of hunting and trade, many hotspots are, in fact, areas of effective enforcement that have been able to detect illegal wildlife trade. 

When asked about the species under threat, Uttara Mendiratta, Programme Head, Counter Wildlife Trafficking Programme, Wildlife Conservation Society - India, said, pangolins are hunted for their scales that are sold into international markets in addition to hunting for the consumption of its meat.

“Freshwater turtles and tortoises are harvested in huge quantities from across India for the international and domestic pet trade and localised consumption in parts of India. Sea fans seem to have found their way into domestic markets, especially those surrounding charms and black magic. We do not yet clearly understand the international market for this if any,” she said. 

“High volume seizures involving sea cucumbers have taken place along many parts of coastal India. Although not commonly consumed in India, sea cucumbers are used extensively for gourmet dishes in other parts of the world.