2 weeks ago
Actor Vikram's Lar Gibbon Video Sparks Wildlife Smuggling Warning
A famous actor named Vikram made a video of himself playing with a gibbon, which is a kind of small monkey.
Gibbons are very rare, and not many are left in the world.
People who care about animals got upset, and the video was taken down.
Wild animals like gibbons belong in forests, not in people's homes.
Sometimes, people secretly bring these animals into India from other countries to sell them.
Chennai in India is known as a big place where this kind of wildlife smuggling happens.
There is an important rulebook called CITES that helps protect endangered animals, and it said India should stop trading in them because the paperwork is not trustworthy.
India's leaders used their power at a meeting in Uzbekistan to stop that rule from being accepted.
The article says the government should watch the borders more carefully and check sellers who pretend animals were born in captivity.
The best way to enjoy gibbons is to see them in the wild, where they live happily and freely.
Actor Vikram's social media video of him with a Lar Gibbon was deleted after drawing attention.
The Lar Gibbon is globally endangered and found in forests of Sumatra, Malaysia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, and Thailand.
The smuggling trail reportedly points to import through Manipur and Erode in Tamil Nadu by an identified individual.
CITES recommended suspending trade in endangered species with India due to paperwork concerns, but the recommendation was blocked at a summit in Uzbekistan last year.
The editorial urges the Environment Ministry to step up border vigilance and says gibbons should be enjoyed only in the wild.
- Who
- Actor Vikram, who posted and later deleted the video; the Environment Ministry and CITES as regulators; and wildlife smugglers.
- What
- A widely noticed video showed Vikram with an endangered Lar Gibbon, spotlighting the popularity of exotic pets and India's wildlife smuggling problem.
- Where
- India, including suspected smuggling routes through Manipur and Erode in Tamil Nadu and transit via Chennai; Lar Gibbon habitats in Sumatra, Malaysia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, and Thailand.
- When
- Recently - the video was posted and later deleted, and a CITES vote on India occurred at a summit in Uzbekistan last year.
- Why
- The case underscores concerns that endangered wildlife is being imported for private display without credible paperwork, and that such animals belong in the wild.
Conservationists
Wildlife trade interests
Exotic pet ownership
Conservationists
Wildlife belongs to the wild; endangered gibbons and other exotic species should not be kept at home for private display.
Wildlife trade interests
Keeping exotic animals privately has a long tradition among royalty and the wealthy, and legally imported or captive-bred animals should remain available to buyers.
India's trade credibility
Conservationists
India's import paperwork lacks credibility, so CITES recommended suspending trade in endangered species with the country.
Wildlife trade interests
Diplomatic clout prevented the suspension at a summit in Uzbekistan, and Indian courts have ruled in favor of the government and animal importers.
Enforcement of wildlife laws
Conservationists
Legal provisions on the sale and possession of protected wildlife can be enforced without difficulty, and the ministry must step up vigilance on porous borders.
Wildlife trade interests
Land borders are difficult to police, especially in insurgency-prone states, which makes stopping wildlife smuggling extremely challenging.
Key facts
- Featured species
- Lar Gibbon - globally endangered on the IUCN Red List
- Incident
- Actor Vikram's social media video with a Lar Gibbon, later deleted
- Lar Gibbon range
- Forests of Sumatra, Malaysia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, and Thailand; possibly extinct in part of its range in Yunnan, China
- Suspected import route
- Via Manipur and Erode in Tamil Nadu; Chennai flagged as a major wildlife smuggling transit point
- CITES recommendation
- Suspension of endangered species trade with India due to paperwork credibility; blocked at a summit in Uzbekistan last year
- India's only ape
- Hoolock Gibbon at the fragmented Hollongapar Gibbon Sanctuary in Assam
- Enforcement call
- Environment Ministry urged to increase border vigilance and curb sales of wildlife misdeclared as captive-bred
Sources
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