Guwahati: Mizoram, with its porous border and ongoing international tensions, is often a key area for the black market, where drug smuggling causes clashes, arrests, and large seizures. Additionally, the state is dealing with the trafficking of exotic animals.
Since June 2020, the Mizoram Environment, Forests & Climate Change (EF&CC) Department’s wildlife division has seized 1,103 exotic animals, smuggled illegally from South Asian countries through Myanmar.
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“The seizures were made by personnel of Assam Rifles, Border Security Force, Directorate of Revenue Intelligence, customs department, and the state police, as well as volunteers of the local civil societies,” an official from the wildlife department said.
Lizards are the most commonly seized exotic animals, with over 500 confiscated. Other animals include various types of birds, reptiles, snakes, crocodiles, and alligators, the official added.
However, the suffering of these animals doesn’t end with the seizures. Local courts usually order the animals to be sent to the Aizawl Zoological Garden in Lungverh, on the western outskirts of Aizawl.
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They are often transported in small cages and may go without food for extended periods. “This results in a number of animals dying even before proper treatment can be administered,” a zoo official said.
While the smuggling of exotic animals won’t be solved overnight, strengthening security measures could significantly reduce the problem.