Why we need to take wildlife trafficking more seriously

Bangladesh has been increasingly becoming a hotspot of global wild animal trafficking. Photo: Bloomberg.

'Wildings belong to the forest; children in mother's lap,'' - so goes a proverb in Bangla literature. 
This highlights that a thing (living or dead) is valued where it belongs. Similarly, wildlife is valued in forests, not in a house or any zoo. 
But recently, we have witnessed that wildlife is not safe anymore in the forests as they are being trafficked in several ways. All types of wildlife are now the target of trafficking in Bangladesh.
This illegal wildlife trade, which consists of both animals and plants, is not only a threat to national security, but also threatens other equally important non-traditional aspects of security. 
Wildlife trafficking constitutes a non-traditional security concern, and the otherwise marginalised crime of wildlife trafficking should be the focus of more research, as it poses significant threats to environmental, human, economic, and national security.
Bangladesh being used as a wildlife trafficking route
In March 2021, border guard members recovered seven Patagonian Mara, a somewhat rabbit-like animal, in the Tushkhali border area in Kolaroa upazila of Satkhira. They are found in open and semi-open habitats in Argentina, including large parts of Patagonia. This herbivorous mammal, which looks like deer, has never been found in this subcontinent.
The following year, a large number of wild animals, including Hoolock gibbons, porcupines, fishing cats, leopard cats, and Kalij pheasants were rescued from Lohagara upazila, Chattogram. Earlier, law enforcers rescued nine zebras from a cowshed near the Sharsha border in Jashore in 2018 and two lion cubs and a leopard in 2017, also from Jashore. 
Wildlife being smuggled out of Bangladesh is not a new thing. But after analysing all those animals and the information from our field research, we can clearly say Bangladesh is also being used as a wildlife trafficking route. It is also a consumer of many wildlife species.
Forest officials, wildlife crime control officials, and researchers say that all those exotic animals from South America and Africa were rescued along the India border, indicating that they were brought into Bangladesh to be trafficked to India. 
Also, Bangladesh has a border with Myanmar that forms the Golden Triangle of wildlife trade. Then comes Vietnam—a country well-known for its notorious and booming wildlife market. Along with them, Bangladesh now plays a role both as a source of and a transit route for wildlife trafficking. 
How does Bangladesh serve as a transit point?
Wildlife Crime Control Unit Director Sanaullah Patawary admitted that Bangladesh is both a "source of and transit route for wildlife trafficking." Asked about how wildlife like the Patagonian Mara, zebra or lion cubs could have entered the country, he said someone must have imported them with false declarations. 
Traders are doing this by showing fake documents and exploiting the port authorities' lack of knowledge. It is worth mentioning that officials at the airport or members of the border guard are neither sensitized nor trained to identify endangered wildlife and prevent their trafficking.
Wildlife traders described live wildlife being imported and exported by air via Dhaka and Chattogram airports, using forged permits from CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) to first smuggle wildlife into Bangladesh and eventually trafficking them to other countries. But they use land borders to traffic them to India and Myanmar.
Studies identified 16 points along the Bangladesh-India and Bangladesh-Myanmar borders that are used to traffic wildlife to our neighbouring countries. These points include Banglabandh, Bhurungumari, Benapole, Teknaf, Chattogram Seaport, and Tamabeel. 
The smugglers come to Chittagong city via the Chittagong-Cox's Bazar highway after collecting the animals from the hilly areas. They travel through the forest paths to evade the check posts. Then they got on the Dhaka-Chittagong highway. 
Biodiversity is under threat
Bangladesh has a fairly rich biodiversity, but wildlife trade amid habitat loss puts enormous pressure on wildlife in the country's different sanctuaries. The number of wild animals in nature is decreasing due to poaching and consumption.
Bangladesh also has a large consumer market for wildlife. Birds are the most in demand. Many of these birds are found in Bangladesh. Research shows that most of these birds are sold as pets. The turtle trade is another sector that developed due to the demand for 'bushmeat.' No month goes by where we do not see the capture of freshwater turtles.
According to a 2015 report by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN), the country has more than 1,600 species of animals, of which 390 are under threat of extinction. These species are red-listed by the IUCN.
In the last 100 years, 31 species of animals have been lost forever from the territory of Bangladesh. Laws are in place to protect sea turtles, rays, and sharks. But all these animals are caught from the Bay of Bengal in Cox's Bazar. Once an endangered species is trafficked, it will become critically endangered and then become extinct forever. So, it is necessary to stop wildlife trafficking.
Better late than never
The Bangladesh Forest Department has made valiant efforts to stem the tide of wildlife trade. In recent years, the forest department has rescued hundreds of thousands of local wildlife of various species and seized foreign consignments. Even a hotline number has been opened to report wildlife crime. 
At present, various agencies, including the police, intelligence department, wildlife management, and nature conservation department, RAB, are working to prevent wildlife trafficking in the country. Apart from this, the international police organisation (Interpol) has also kept the forest areas of Bangladesh under surveillance.
The Wild Animals (Preservation and Security) Act of 2012 was enacted to protect wild animals in the country. About 1,300 species of birds, reptiles, amphibians, fish, etc. have been declared protected in the revised schedule of the Act. 
The law also mentions the punishment for killing, hunting, and smuggling these animals. However, despite the law, the accused are out on bail and are once again working on wildlife trafficking. The Chittagong Forest Department says that the same people were repeatedly involved in these crimes during rescue operations in Chittagong.  
However, the focus of these efforts is mostly on the results. The retail market needs to be constantly monitored. With the rise of Facebook and YouTube as marketplaces, the wildlife business has boomed in Bangladesh, like many other places. 
Buyers like those who ordered shipments of eagle-owls, black eagles, and ground hornbills need to be found. Market monitoring needs to be strengthened to identify highly traded species that are threatened with extinction.
Perhaps the most important thing is to completely shut down small zoos—mostly privately owned, some developed in collaboration with government agencies—to curb local demand for wildlife. Those who buy and keep different animals should also be identified. 
Besides, the work needs to be done on a larger scale. The Bangladesh Forest Department team tasked with monitoring—the Wildlife Crime Control Unit—lacks adequate human resources and equipment.
When these facts and evidence are woven into a single thread, the seemingly isolated incidents will undoubtedly reveal a terrible pattern in the situation of illegal wildlife trade in Bangladesh. The point is that we are fighting against criminal activity. We have to realise this war is as significant as any other war. Each factor must be taken into consideration. After all, wildlife deserves to be in forests, where they would be valued sincerely.

Akib Rahman Shanto is a Postgraduate student of the Department of International Relations, University of Dhaka.

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions and views of The Business Standard.