India: Wildlife Act amendment helps crackdown on illegal trade; elephant tusks seized

The officers of India’s Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) are responsible for carrying out anti-smuggling and counter-trafficking measures across international borders. They are known as the agency that works to secure India’s national and economic security by preventing the smuggling of gold, narcotic drugs, fake currency notes, antiques, firearms, wildlife and environmental products etc.

In a significant development in April 2023, the DRI was also empowered to seize wildlife-related trade that is being traded within India, thanks to an amendment in Section 50 of the Wildlife Protection Act (WPA), 1972.

According to DRI officials, specific intelligence led them to a gang involved in illegal wildlife trade, near Srivilliputhur, Tamil Nadu. The officials are said to have identified and intercepted three persons who were carrying a large bag and behaving in a suspicious manner. Upon apprehending them, it was revealed that the bag contained two elephant tusks, which are covered under Schedule 1 of the WPA, 1972.

Add WION as a Preferred Source

ALSO READ |Delhi's pollution woes likely to be solved by artificial rain after IIT Kanpur steps in

“The two elephant tusks weighing 21.63kgin total were recovered and seized, as per the newly amended Section 50 of the Wildlife Protection Act. The seized tusks and the three persons who have committed the offence under WPA were handed over to the Tamil Nadu Forest Department,” said the DRI.

According to the DRI, the amended Act has empowered them to make seizures of illegally traded wildlife items across the country. In June this year, the Chennai DRI had seized two elephant tusks weighing 4.03 kg,apprehended seven members of a cartel and handed them over to the State Forest Department.

ALSO READ |Amarnath cave road connectivity project kicks-up row, politicians say environmental disaster in making

Repeat seizures of elephant tusks bring to the fore the important issue of poaching of wild elephants (a powerful cultural and religious entity in India) and the lucrative business opportunities offered by the illegal ivory trade. In recent years, at least 90 cases of elephant tusk seizures have been reported in India, along with 29 cases of elephant poaching, as per government data.