As countries in South Asia went into lockdown to curb the spread of coronavirus, criminals in the illegal wildlife trade took advantage. With authorities focused on enforcing lockdown restrictions, poachers felt less likely to be caught.<\/p>\n
As a result, authorities in India, Pakistan and Nepal said there was a surge in illegal hunting, including of endangered animals and rare birds. To make matters worse, the economic consequences of the Covid-19 lockdown also saw people who had lost their livelihoods turn to poaching to support themselves.<\/p>\n
The trend follows what has already been confirmed<\/a> in Southeast Asia, Africa, Brazil and Colombia: that poaching and deforestation increased since Covid-19 restrictions went into effect around the world.<\/p>\n Joseph Walston, the head of conservation of the Wildlife Conservation Society noted<\/a> that, \u201cIn places like Southeast Asia, there\u2019s this huge urban-to-rural migration where people have lost their jobs in the cities overnight. They\u2019re now having to depend on poaching, logging or other activities that are degrading nature because they have no other option.\u201d<\/p>\n This is just as true in South Asia. In India, an increase in reported poaching may be only the tip of the iceberg, say conservationists. In Pakistan, officials report a record number of cases registered for illegal hunting in the March to April period. In Nepal, one of the most worrying cases of poaching has surfaced in recent years. Bangladesh is the only country that has reported a decrease in poaching incidents, though conservationists remain concerned about the threat to wildlife.<\/p>\n While these countries have battled the illegal wildlife trade for many years, the recent lockdown has shown that the black market are well entrenched.<\/p>\n Trafficking triples in parts of Pakistan\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n In the northern region of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), the lockdown period from March 22 to May 12 saw a spike in incidents of hunting and poaching.<\/p>\n \u201cFrom March 20 to April 30, we have made a record registration of 600 cases of illegal hunting and poaching,\u201d said Muhammad Niaz, the divisional wildlife officer in KP\u2019s wildlife department. In regular months, he said, the total cases are between 150 to 200.<\/p>\n Most of the cases involved the smuggling of captured birds and animals to supply markets in the major cities, some of which were open to allow essential items.<\/p>\n \u201cIn Dera Ismail Khan district alone, my team booked 220 hunters and poachers who were operating close to the river Indus,\u201d said Khan Malook, the local district wildlife officer.<\/p>\n The biggest case was the smuggling of 65 demoiselle cranes on March 24 from D.I. Khan to Peshawar. The cranes were found tied up with their heads covered with cloth in an ambulance, whose operators pretended they were shifting a body, Malook said.<\/p>\n Sharifuddin, the Chief Conservator of forests and wildlife of Balochistan province, said that smuggling cases had increased in KP because the province is a key resting point for migratory birds flying back<\/a> to Siberia from India along the Indus Flyway<\/a> .<\/p>\n Lucrative trade <\/strong><\/p>\n Poaching is a lucrative business and people have taken advantage of the lack of activity at the wildlife department during the corona lockdown period, said Muhammad Sohaib, a bird seller in Peshawar. Sohaib admitted there had been an increase in the supply of birds by poachers during this time.<\/p>\n There is big money in hunting birds. Poachers selling cranes and other rare species can easily earn hundreds of thousands of rupees on a monthly basis. A crane can fetch anywhere from PKR 7,000 (USD 44) to 2 million (USD 12,500).<\/p>\n \u201cThe price of rare wild species on the open market is drawing people towards this illegal practice, threatening already endangered wild species,\u201d Sohaib warned.<\/p>\n Wildlife officials believe that there has been a surge in the clandestine wildlife trade because people have had to look for other sources of income, including poaching, during the lockdown, which has put a stop to commercial activity. Not only professional poachers, but ordinary people have moved into the illegal trade as authorities have been distracted.<\/p>\n Idle youngsters bragging on social media by uploading pictures of hunted wild species also caused an increase in hunting during this time of enforced leisure, wildlife department officials told The Third Pole<\/a>.<\/p>\n Endangered species killed in Nepal <\/strong><\/p>\n In Nepal, major incidents involving endangered species have raised suspicions about an increase in poaching as the country went into lockdown.<\/p>\n Officials say that a host of issues such as loss of livelihoods, restrictions on movement and a lull in tourism may have encouraged poachers to take advantage of the situation.<\/p>\n On April 25, the bodies of six musk deer were found inside Sagarmatha National Park, below Mount Everest, a month after the Covid-19 lockdown was imposed. Park officials say it was \u201cone of the worst cases of poaching\u201d in recent years.<\/p>\n “When we reached the site where the bodies were found, we saw that the deer were trapped and killed. The pod on one male deer had been removed,” said Bhumiraj Upadhyaya, chief conservation officer at the Sagarmatha National Park.<\/p>\n The Himalayan musk deer, more commonly known as Kasturi in South Asia, is one of the most endangered species in the region. Scent glands from male musk deer can fetch thousands of rupees, and are used to make perfume and traditional medicine.<\/p>\n Dawa Nuru Sherpa, a resident of Khumbu on the foothills of Everest, wrote on his Facebook page that a dead golden eagle was also found inside a trap in the same area. More wire traps were also found.<\/p>\n Another incident in southern Nepal\u2019s Parsa National Park saw poachers exchange fire with patrolling soldiers. One soldier was hit, while a poacher died on the spot, said Bishnu Shrestha, information officer at the Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation. Officials managed to arrest one of the poachers, who worked as a painter in Kathmandu, and had returned home after the lockdown because of a lack of work, said Amir Maharjan, the park’s chief conservation officer.<\/p>\n Conservation officials have stepped up security efforts in the wake of these incidents. “All our offices have opened even as the government has not listed us under essential services,” Shrestha said.<\/p>\n Most of Nepal\u2019s national parks see an influx of tourists during spring season. But the protected areas are currently deserted, and that has encouraged poachers to kill wild animals, said Upadhyaya. “The Everest region would be brimming with people with the advent of spring,” he said. “But this year, with the lockdown, it’s easier for [poachers] to set up traps.”<\/p>\n Numerous minor incidents related to wildlife poaching and illegal logging have also been recorded in the country since the lockdown, said Shrestha. At Chitwan National Park, Nepal’s most popular conservation area, an elephant and three crocodiles have been reported killed.<\/p>\n Endangered species in India<\/strong><\/p>\n As India went into lockdown, there was a spike in poaching registered in many parts of India. From wild birds in cages, to animals caught for bushmeat, to prized commodities in the international illegal poaching trade.<\/p>\n In Odisha, four men were apprehended on May 10 with a leopard skin in Simlipal tiger reserve. On the same day, officials found a rhino killed by poachers<\/a> in Kaziranga national park and tiger reserve in the northeast state of Assam. Conservationists say the Indian rhino will not survive without constant vigilance, because its horn is highly valued in trade.<\/p>\n A sharp rise in poaching has come to light in Rajasthan, including several cases of the endangered chinkara, a desert antelope which has been pushed back from a larger range and is now predominantly found in Rajasthan.<\/p>\n Conservationists say this may just be the tip of the iceberg. Sumit Dookia, who studies desert ecology and works on community conservation said, \u201cFrom our estimates, at least 55 cases of poaching were reported [in Western Rajasthan]. The animals poached include chinkara, black buck, spiny-tailed lizard, desert hare, peafowl, monitor lizards and grey francolin.\u201d<\/p>\n Meanwhile, in Karnataka\u2019s Bandipur tiger reserve, a poaching ring was discovered\u201450 kg of chital deer meat was seized and nine people arrested. This was among a string of poaching incidents. Some of the accused used to work in forest department in temporary jobs.<\/p>\n