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53 protected wild animals rescued, 6 men arrested after Bengal-Maharashtra raids
Sixty-three protected wild animals, including slow lorises and binturongs, were rescued as six people were arrested in an interstate wildlife smuggling crackdown.
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At least 53 protected wild animals were rescued and six people arrested during coordinated raids across West Bengal and Maharashtra that busted an interstate wildlife smuggling racket, officials said on Thursday.
The animals rescued include 15 slow lorises, two binturongs, 28 star tortoises, six Egyptian vultures and two shikra birds. The rescued animals are listed under Schedule I of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, which gives them the highest level of protection in India.
While the binturong, also known as a bearcat, is the largest civet in India, the slow loris is a primate. Both are found in the forests of northeast India.
“The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence and Wildlife Crime Control Bureau in Mumbai and Kolkata jointly conducted raids at multiple locations in West Bengal and Maharashtra,” said an official.
The CBI registered two separate cases on July 7 and 8. Three people from Kolkata and three from Mumbai were arrested.
“The animals were sourced by the accused from various parts of India for trading. After the initial proceedings, the animals were handed over to the forest department officials of Maharashtra and West Bengal for safe custody and handling,” the official said.
