Presentation on Trade in Wildlife base on the World Environment Day Theme 2016 "Go Wild For Life"

1. By
iNaturewatch Foundation

2. About WED
• WED is the United Nations’ campaign for encouraging
global awareness and action for the environment. It is
celebrated every 5 June since 1972.
• This year’s theme for WED – Go Wild for Life –
encourages you to celebrate all those species under
threat and take action of your own to help safeguard
them for future generations

3. Why Celebrate WED?
• When we see or experience the negative effects of
climate change, environmental degradation or resource
depletion it is easy to blame others - governments for not
prioritising environmental policy; industry for raising
greenhouse gas emissions; NGOs for not lobbying
strongly enough; and individuals for not taking action.
• WED however is a day we put aside our differences and
instead celebrate the achievements we’ve made towards
protecting the environment.
• By celebrating WED, we remind ourselves and others of
the importance of caring for our environment. Remember
that every action counts, so join us: every year,
everywhere, everyone!

4. Trade in Wildlife
The booming illegal trade in wildlife products is eroding Earth’s
precious biodiversity, robbing us of our natural heritage and
pushing whole species toward extinction. The killing and
smuggling is also undermining economies, fuelling organized
crime, and feeding corruption and insecurity across the globe

5. Overview
• The trade endangers iconic elephants, rhinos, tigers, gorillas and
sea turtles. Lesser-known species include helmeted hornbills,
pangolins and wild orchids.
• Efforts to protect them have scored some successes. However,
these and many other species remain at risk despite international
campaigns to influence policy and considerable investments in
conservation and law enforcement.
• To turn this tide, more people need to understand the damage this
illicit business is doing to our environment, economies, communities
and security.
• We must also change our habits and behaviour so that demand for
wildlife products falls.
• More awareness increases the pressure on governments and
international bodies to introduce and enforce tougher laws and
combat those still willing to break them.

7. What is Wildlife Trade?
Wildlife trade is any sale or exchange of wild
animal and plant resources by people. This
can involve live animals and plants or a
diverse range of products needed or prized
by humans—including skins, medicinal
ingredients, tourist curios, timber, fish and
other food products. Most wildlife trade is
probably within national borders, but there is
a large volume of wildlife in trade
internationally.

8. Reasons for trade wildlife
• Food
• Animal fodder
• Building materials
• Healthcare
• Clothing and ornaments
• Pets
• Sport
• Collections
• Religion

9. MAMMALS IN
TRADE
Section one

10. Furs & Skins: Facts
• The wild fur trade in India deals with at
least 20 species of animals.
• Of these, 18 species are endangered or
vulnerable.

12. • Three leopard skins and bones were seized in Pithoragarh on 30 April 2016.
-Uttarakhand Police's special task force seized the skins of five big cats from
Haridwar forest division and arrested one of the poachers belonging to
Bawaria gang in March 2016.
-In January too, seven leopard skins and bones were seized in the Lalpur
area of Pauri district.
Fur & Skin: Facts

13. Ivory

14. Live Mammals
• Globally, as many as 80-90% of the primates used in
medical research come from the wild.
• USA, the largest primate market in the world imports
13,000-17,000 live animals per year .
• In 1992, 200 Indian star tortoises were seized in the
Netherlands bound for USA.
• Other mammals traded are Sloth Bear, Clouded
Leopards, Slow Loris, Red Panda, Hoolock Gibbon,
Clouded Leopard, Leopard Cat for pet and large cats for
circus.
• Thousands of Spiny-tailed Lizards were collected in
western India and used for extracting oil, which is
supposed to have aphrodisiacal properties.

15. World over, live animals are used in zoos, circuses, private
collections or breeding programmes.

21. Tiger Products are openly sold in Asian Countries

22. Rhino Horns
Recently a Rhino was
killed by poachers at
Kaziranga in May 2016

23. Shahtoosh

24. Musk
Musk deers are killed
for their musk glands

25. Antlers and Horns: Facts
• The antlers of deer such as Chital, Sambar,
Barking Deer and Swamp Deer are found in the
trade.
• The main export of antlers or products from India
is to Europe, Australia, East Asia and USA.
• Major supplier states are Andhra Pradesh,
Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra.
• Total collection is estimated to be 20 tons
annually.

26. Antlers & Horns: Facts
• Antlers are used in cutlery handles and
buttons. Also used as whole antlers for
trophies or shields for decorating houses.
They are also reported to be used in
traditional oriental medicines.

27. BIRDS IN TRADE
Section two

28. Live Birds
• The minimum declared value of the world bird
trade is US$ 44 million.
• About 3.5 to 5 million wild birds are documented
in international commercial trade annually.
• On a global basis, one out of three birds caught
from the wild survives on an average; one dies
during capture and another during
transportation.
• As per the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, keeping
and sale of wild birds is prohibited.

29. Birds in Trade: Facts
As many as 5,00,000 live
Parrots and Parakeets
enter the global trade
annually.
Thirteen Rose Ringed
Parakeets were seized in Uttar
Pradesh on 16 March 2016 by
the forest department with help
from Wildlife SOS

30. Peregrine Falcons that are used in falconry for hunting
smaller birds in Dubai.

31. Swiftlet’s Nest

32. REPTILES IN
TRADE
Section three

33. Reptile Skins: Facts
• It is estimated that India used to export US$ 60
million worth of reptile skins annually when the
trade was legal.
• Under the Wildlife Protection Act and CITES, all
the following reptiles are protected by law, trade
in these species is illegal – Marsh Crocodile,
Salt Water Crocodile, Common Monitor Lizard,
Yellow Monitor Lizard, Rock Python, Cobra, Rat
snake, Russell’s Viper.

35. Reptile skins are used for manufacturing wallets, belts,
shoes, whips and other leather accessories.

36. Turtles & Tortoises: Facts
• In India, there are 16 species of freshwater and semi-aquatic turtles, six
species of soft-shell turtles, four species of land tortoises and five
species of marine turtles.
• All the 5 marine turtles are endangered and three are traded mainly for
meat.
• Although international trade is banned, there are reports of smuggling
turtles from India to Bangladesh for meat and of live star tortoises mainly
to the Middle East for the pet trade.
• Major centres for smuggling of tortoises for the pet trade are Chennai,
Bangalore, and Ahmedabad. Both tortoises and turtles are traded as pet
to countries like Europe, Middle East and S.E. Asia.
• Turtle shell is used for making handbags, comb-handles, fancy hair-
clips, etc. A handbag of Hawksbill shell decorated with corals, pearls
and more, which is an attraction for foreign tourists, can cost up to a lakh
of rupees in India.

37. 146 endangered tortoises, were seized by
Customs at the Mumbai International Airport
on March 21.

40. BUTTERFLIES
IN TRADE
Section five

41. Butterflies in Trade: Facts
• Trade in butterflies is estimated to be worth US$ 100
million per year.
• Taiwan exports upto 500 million butterflies per year,
many of them collected from all over Asia.

42. Butterfly in Trade: Facts
• Banded Apollos found in Ladakh region, are much sought after
butterfly species. One specimen can fetch upto thousands of
dollars in Europe and USA.
• Main collection centres- Himalayan and Trans Himalayan
region, North East India, Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

43. Butterfly plaques used as drawing room hangings,
ornaments, pen holders, table mats and other decorative
items are sold in many countries.

44. MARINE
LIFE IN
TRADE
Section four

45. Shells in Trade: Facts
• Commercial Trochus, a coral reef species,
was once used to provide material for
buttons and was exported from India. It is
still being fished in small quantities for
decorative purposes.
• Turban shells provide mother-of-pearl for
making decorative buttons, beads and
jewellery. They are much in demand for
making curios and utilitarian articles.
• Conches are collected for decorative
purposes.
• Sacred chanks are exploited for the popular
bangle industry in West Bengal. Imported
from Sri Lanka, it is one of the most traded
shells.
• Giant Clams are the largest bivalves in the
world and are mostly exploited for edible
purposes by the local population.

46. Aquarium Fishes
• The total annual world market for aquarium fish is
growing by 10-15% per year.
• Asian countries supply most of the freshwater aquarium
fishes in the market today.
• As many as 340-500 million fish are kept as pets in USA
alone.
• USA imports some 125 million ornamental fish per year.
• One study indicates that only 300 fish out of the 1,000
taken from the sea survive on an average.
• India exports Aquarium fish annually to various countries
including USA, Japan, Malaysia, Nepal, Singapore,
Netherlands, Germany and others.

47. Whale Sharks in Trade: Facts
• Whale shark is the largest species of
shark, declared vulnerable under the IUCN
Red List.
• India banned whale shark hunting in 2001,
making it the first fish to be protected
under the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972.
• Fins are exported and used for making fin-
soup, and the liver is used to extract an oil,
which is consumed locally.

48. Finning is a gruesome act where the fishermen sometimes
cut all the fins after which the living animal is thrown back
to the water, to die a slow and horrifying death.

49. Lesser Known Wildlife in Trade
Sea Cucumber

50. Sea Horse

51. Hairs, Bristles, Scales and Feathers

52. PLANTS IN
TRADE
Section six

53. Plant in Trade: Facts
• According to the World Health Organization (WHO), more than 4
billion people rely on herbal medicines to some extent.
• India and Brazil are the largest exporters of medicinal plants.
• In India, the collection of medicinal plants continues unabated
especially in the North-east, the Himalayas and the Western Ghats.
• The notion that a plant collected from the wild is more efficacious
than a cultivated one pose problems for plant conservation. Hence,
the wild plant may fetch up to three times as much as a cultivated
variety.
• Medicinal plants are traded as chips, pulp, bark, fruit, root, wood,
herb, flower, seed, petals, rhizomes, nuts, shells and others.
• Plants that are in trade are Indian Birthwort, Himalayan May apple,
Kutki, Indian Serpent root, Yam, Himalayan Spikenard, Golden
Moss, and Yew. These medicinally important plants are highly
endangered and are protected under Wildlife Protection Act.

54. Ornamental Plants
• The world market for wild plants, for
decorating houses and gardens, is
large as trade among collectors adds
to the peril of species that are rare
and difficult to cultivate.
• Such as Cactus ,Rare Cycads and
Carnivorous plants

55. Orchids
• Orchids are the plants that are
most in demand in the world
trade due to their spectacular
beauty and exotic aura.
Orchids, like the very rare
Lady’s Slipper (Paphiopedilum
rothschildianum), are sold at
high price.
• Orchid trade centres in India
include Kalimpong, Shillong
and Trivandrum.
• Wild orchids are often
smuggled out of the country as
cut flowers by wrongly
declaring them as lilies or
other exotic flowers.

56. LAWS THAT PROTECT
WIDLIFE
Section seven

57. LAWS
•CITES: International trade in endangered and
threatened species is regulated by the Convention
on International Trade in Endangered Species of
Wildlife Fauna and Flora (CITES) which strives to
ensure that international trade in wild animals and
plants is legal, sustainable and traceable and is
not detrimental to the survival of the species in the
wild. International commercial trade is strictly
prohibited for those species listed as Appendix I.
• Wildlife Protection Act 1972
• TRAFFIC

60. Quick Five Steps
1. Being better informed about the status of wildlife
and wildlife products. Spreading the word and
encouraging others to get better informed
2. Supporting governments and local communities to
tackle the illegal trade in wildlife
3. Reporting crimes when they are witnessed through
mobile technology and national hotlines
4. Working to reduce human-wildlife conflict for land
and resources at community level
5. Making individual choices that don’t threaten
species such as not buying products from wildlife
protected by law and by supporting companies that
demonstrate sustainable supply chains and
environmentally responsible policies.

61. WHAT YOU CAN DO
Section eight

62. Say NO to Wildlife Products

63. iNaturewatch Foundation is a Navi Mumbai
based charitable trust working in the field
of urban environment in India
Contact: 2 Mandar, Plot A-23, Sector-12, Kharghar, Navi Mumbia-
410210.
9820165525, inaturewatch@gmail.com,
www.inaturewatch.org