The rate of conviction in wildlife crimes is as low as 2%, A.Madhivannan, Wildlife Inspector, Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB), said here on Thursday.
An awareness ses sion on wildlife crimes as part of World Wildlife Week was held on Thursday and 100 participants including school, college students, Forest Guards and other Forest Department officials took part.
Mr. Madhivannan said, “though there are stringent laws against wildlife crimes, the rate of conviction is between 2% and 3%. Many are not aware about such laws. This affects our conservation efforts. There needs to be coordination between the public and the Forest Department to improve the conviction rate and reduce wildlife crimes.”
He added that the WCCB was formed following jurisdictional issues in investigating such crimes.
Mr.Madhivannan said that various flora and fauna were smuggled from India for ornamental and medicinal purposes. “There was a bird named dodo which has become extinct. The bird played an important role in increasing the number of a particular variety of tree. However, with the extinction of the bird, the tree variety also diminished,” he said.
He also said that internationally, in the world of illegal business, wildlife trade was second only to narcotics.
Exhibits of seized goods manufactured using animal skin were on display.
S.Saravanan, honorary wildlife warden of Salem, said the population of Gaur saw a drastic increase since there was no predators.
