Illegal wildlife trade: 88 animals rescued in Lalbaug near Mumbai

Based on a sting operation by the forest department and WWA on Friday, two persons were apprehended from Thane for possessing three Alexandrine parakeets. The two accused led them to the godown where the animals were kept.

Maharashtra forest department and animal welfare group Wildlife Welfare Association (WWA), Thane undertook one of the largest live wildlife seizures across the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) so far and rescued 88 wild animals on Friday. Two people have been arrested.

Different species of turtles and birds were seized and two people were arrested from Lalbaug on Thursday. (WWA)

A total of 24 Indian black spotted terrapin turtles which are protected under Schedule I of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 (WPA); 16 Indian tent turtles (Schedule I); three Alexandrine parakeets (Schedule I); 10 Indian palm squirrels (Schedule IV); 27 rose-ringed parakeets (Schedule IV); and eight plum-headed parakeets (Schedule IV) were rescued from a godown-cum-apartment in Lalbaug by the investigation team.

Narendra Muthe, range forest officer (Thane), said that based on a sting operation by the department and WWA on Friday, two persons were apprehended from Thane for possessing three Alexandrine parakeets which is in violation of the WPA. “Interrogations led us to the storage area in Lalbaug from where we seized a host of live wildlife. However, the main accused who owns the property was missing. We have taken a statement from his mother and are currently tracing the person,” said Muthe adding, “For this reason, we are not making the names of the accused public as we do not know how big this nexus might be.”

Meanwhile, the accused were granted custody till November 2 by a local district court.

All rescued animals are under the care of WWA. “Their rehabilitation protocol has been initiated and hopefully they will soon be released back to where they belong,” said Aditya Patil, president, WWA.

Patil added that wild animals were being poached in huge quantities and sophisticated supply-chain made the nexus difficult to trace. “These numbers are an indicator that illegal wildlife trade is on the rise. However, efforts by the investigation team saved these animals from being illegal pets. What’s worse, even the people who buy these species as pets are not aware of how they are equally guilty in this crime and are enhancing the demand for this illegal trade,” he said.