Nearly 64,000 live wild animals officially reported to have been confiscated by enforcement agencies remain untraceable, according to a new report released by the University of Oxford Wildlife Conservation Research Unit and World Animal Protection. The figure of seizure of live wild animals between 2010 and 2014, are as per the trade database of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna CITES trade database.
In the Indian context too, there are innumerable cases of CITES listed species, both native and non native, whose seizures of live animals, are never reported properly nationally and internationally, including the CITES Secretariat.
However, the study warns warn that these animals are likely to be only a fraction of actual seizures, as the study found only one in three (30%) of countries that are 'Party to CITES' provided any information. Two out of three countries did not report any live wildlife seizures, despite poaching of endangered species to supply the illicit global wildlife trade .
The study, also highlights that the ultimate fate of seized live wild animals is unknown. Once animals have been confiscated, national authorities must decide whether to keep them in captivity, return them to the wild or euthanise them. CITES provides guidelines to aid this decision-making based on the conservation status and welfare needs of the animals.
According to Gajender K Sharma, India Director, World Animal Protection "Illegal wildlife trade in Asia is a growing concern but reporting by India of live wild animals confiscated by enforcement agencies in the CITES trade database is virtually non-existent. He strongly urged the CITES trade database to include information on the fate of all live wild animal seizures, so that the risk of their re-entering the illegal wildlife trade is reduced.
The findings and recommendations of this research will be presented at the 17th meeting of the Conference of the Parties (CoP) in Johannesburg, South Africa on 27 September 2016 in an event related to the confiscation of live wild animals organised by the Species Survival Network (SSN).