Recent theft of eight Brazilian marmoset monkeys from the Alipore Zoological Gardens at Calcutta once again proved the callousness of zoo authority.The Calcutta police even sought the assistance of Interpol to track down the thieves.on August 9,2009,Seven of the eight marmosets stolen from Alipore Zoo were recovered by Durg police in Chhattisgarh.But the Calcutta police faced an embarrassing position after the main accused Rajesh Saikia had fled from their custody.Later, the Durg Police one again recaptured Saikia.The monkey episode shows that poachers and unscrupulous traders are very much active in these illegal trade of wild animals.
India has largest number of tigers in the wild.But,it will be diminish rapidly after China quietly approved the sale of tiger products extract.Tiger population in other countries Like China,Russia,North Korea,Sumatra,Myanmar is diminishing. China’s traditional medicine manufactures heavily dependent on tiger bone extracts,the demand for India’s tigers increases for the bone market.Similarly,poaching of Rhinos for the making of handles of daggers in Yemen.Tuskers are killed in large numbers.Ivory has a big market in Japan.Russian buy Indian fur items.Poachers also kill Leopards for their furs.Underground markets are thriving in China,Hong Kong,Taiwan,Vietnam.One can buy tiger products like skins and other items from these markets. Poaching of wild animals in India is a big concern for the government.Every year,several incidents of killings of wild animals from various parts of India made headlines .The Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 has been amended from time to time to made wildlife related offences more stringent.Rajasthan’s Sariska Reserve lost all its tigers to poaching in 2004-05.So in 2008,a three-year-old male cub was airlifted.The cub was airlifted from the Ranthambore national park,Rajasthan.The move reintroduced tigers in the reserve.At least 10 tigers and 57 elephants have been poached in India in recent years.According to the recent tiger census released by the Indian government on Feb 12, 2008,the number of tigers now at 1,411, a drastic fall from 3,642 in the 2001-02 census.
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