Wildlife Belongs To The Wild, Not To Celebrities To Show Off

Actor Vikram’s social media video of a frolicking session with a Lar Gibbon has naturally attracted attention because the diminutive lesser ape is globally endangered. In the video, which was later deleted, as reported by this newspaper, the film star is seen having fun with the primate that is found in the forests of Sumatra, Malaysia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, and Thailand. The IUCN Red List, the world’s scientific species database, says the animal is threatened and possibly extinct in one part of its range in Yunnan, China. A Lar Gibbon pet, even if it is legally imported or captive bred, is bound to attract scrutiny. Worldwide, assembling a menagerie of exotic species at home for private viewing has a long tradition. Royalty, the high, mighty, and wealthy in the West acquired exotic animals from colonised countries. With rising prosperity, many in India have taken a fancy for attractive birds, such as talking African grey parrots, colourful Amazonian macaws, giant palm cockatoos from New Guinea, and frisky primates. Besides gibbons, even snakes, spiders, and iguanas have been seized while being smuggled through Indian airports. Going by the record of seizures, Chennai is a major transit point for wildlife smuggling from Thailand and Malaysia, aided by corruption in customs. In the case of the Lar Gibbon, the trail seems to point to its import through Manipur and Erode in Tamil Nadu by an identified individual. The land border in the northeast is porous, and wildlife smuggling provides hard currency to fund various illegal activities. The Environment Ministry has to step up its vigilance along this border and focus on the sale of wildlife misdeclared as captive-bred. Many exotic animals are on sale in social media marketplaces.

India’s record on wildlife imports is deeply worrying, given that it does not carry credibility with the international convention on the subject. CITES, the treaty that governs the imports, recommended that trade in endangered species with India be suspended, given the lack of credibility of the paperwork in major cases. Apparently, diplomatic clout prevented the recommendation from being accepted at a summit in Uzbekistan last year. The vote may have been won, and Indian courts, too, have ruled in favour of the government and animal importers, but the germaneness of the CITES arguments must be addressed. It is true that land borders with neighbouring countries may be difficult to police, especially in insurgency-prone states, but the legal provisions on sale and possession of protected wildlife can be enforced without difficulty. It is also pertinent to point out that active support from both VIPs and the average citizen for national parks and sanctuaries can stem the tragic loss of native wildlife. The Hollongapar Gibbon Sanctuary in Assam that hosts the country’s only ape, the Hoolock Gibbon, is fragmented and affected by a rail line and human activity. Lesser-known species in Great Nicobar face the threat of massive deforestation and decline. Gibbons should be enjoyed only in the wild.