Chennai: Youngsters keen on making a fast buck are being attracted to the illegal wildlife trade, with over two-thirds of the wildlife crimes in the state in the last six months committed by youths aged 20-30. Of the 55 cases detected jointly by the TN Forest department, TRAFFIC - a wildlife crime prevention wing of WWF-India - and Wildlife Crime Control Bureau, youths in this age group were involved in 39.
TRAFFIC head Shekhar Kumar Niraj said youngsters get lured by the easy money that can be earned from poaching wildlife.
Organised gangs also use the money as a bait to attract youth. Another advantage for the youth is their ability to use social media and the internet, which is the main platform for selling wildlife trophies, animal body parts and live animals. This is a recent phenemenon which is happening in the last three to four years, he said.
Most of the youths involved in this illegal trade do not come from families known for selling bush meat or other body parts of animals. Instead, a majority of them were professional graduates, who can otherwise make a living with their educational qualifications, and they were involved in the trade in order to lead a luxurious life, a senior forest officer said.
These youths traded in a variety of items including tiger skin, ivory, corals, bird nests, musk deer pods, live sand boas, tortoises, parakeets, and owls.
Those indulging in the illegal wildlife trade also get involved in the smuggling of idols, said another wildlife officer. Coordination between various enforcement agencies such as forest department, police and Wildlife Crime Control Bureau is required to curb the trade, he said.
The authorities should also create awareness among youth about the implications of the illegal wildlife trade and its consequences, the officer added.
