‘Wildlife trafficking at Sonepur fair’

Patna: Sonepur fair is only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to prohibited wildlife trafficking, said co-opted member of Animal Welfare Board of India under Union ministry of environment and forests, Gauri Maulekhi on Tuesday. She alleged that Mir Shikar Toli in the state capital is the hub of this trade.
Maulekhi-led team of Union ministry of environment and forests called on Bihar chief secretary Anjani Kumar Singh and requested the state government to carry out raids in the Mir Shikar Toli locality, alleging that a syndicate of wildlife traffickers was operating from there.If the government failed to get considerable seizures (of wildlife) done, a PIL would follow within seven days, she said. Maulekhi said almost 80% of the entire volume of illegal wildlife trading was being done through Patna and Kolkata. These are the ‘wholesale’ markets of wildlife trading. The tech-savvy traders are not unknown to internet trading, she said. The animals ranging from birds to crocodiles, she said, are taken from Mir Shikar Toli to Sitamarhi only to be exported to Nepal. They are transported to China and slaughtered, she said.
Speaking about the brawl between the team members and vendors at Sonepur fair on Sunday last, she said it was not extempore; rather it was an organized attack by the traders of birds and animals after they observed us videographing the wildlife which was put on display for sale. Pointing towards a nexus between the cops at the fair and the traders, she said the policemen remained a mute spectator while the team members were being manhandled. She alleged that another police team was sent to the spot again, after the intervention by some high officials, only to find that not a single bird or animal was left there. She also alleged that without the connivance of the police and administration, the birds and animals could not have been removed. Saran SP Satyaveer Singh said 14 persons had been arrested for their suspected involvement in the scuffle. That apart, two parrots had also been seized from the possession of one of the arrested persons, he added.