The Indian Express ·
Orangutans in Odisha: Does India have to repatriate the primates? What law says
The incident brought to the fore a trend that has been repeatedly flagged by wildlife crime control experts and anti-exotic pet trade advocates — India is no more just a transit route, but is fuelling demand for exotic pets.
Is international wildlife trade allowed, and what rules govern it?
The international trade of wildlife, their body parts and trophies is not prohibited. But is strictly regulated and governed through the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). The international treaty entered force in 1975, and India became a party to it in 1976. The treaty’s aim is to ensure that cross-border trade in wildlife and plants is legal, sustainable and traceable without harming their survival in the wild.
It is essentially a licensing system that puts in checks and controls on the import, export and re-export of live animals and plants, wildlife body parts, and trophies. The controls are implemented via an exhaustive “CITES species-list”, which is divided into three appendices. These appendices determine the level of protection accorded to those species.