A baby kangaroo, six Macaw parrots, three tortoises and two monkeys were recovered by the Assam Forest Department.?
The truck from Mizoram was intercepted by forest personnel in Assam's Silchar district.?
"A truck bearing registration No.TS 08 UB 1622 coming from Mizoram side was intercepted by forest personnel at around 11:30 pm on late Tuesday night and a kangaroo, six Macaw parrots, three tortoises, and two monkeys", a forest official was quoted as saying by the Sentinel.?
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According to an NDTV report, during routine checking of trucks in Assam's Lailapur, officials noticed a foul smell from one of the vehicles.
The driver tried to get away saying that the odour came from rotten fruits in his vehicle, but?officials were not convinced.?
Upon inspection, a consignment of exotic wildlife, including a baby kangaroo, a pair of Capuchin monkeys and six Hyacinth macaws, a species of parrots native to South America, were found.?
What's worse is they were locked up in plastic boxes and cartons and were in a pitiable state.???
Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) of Cachar Forest Division Sunnydeo Choudhary oversaw the entire operation. Forest Range Officer of Hawaithang Range D Deori is investigating the case, states reports.?
Speaking to Sentinel, Forest Range Officer Deori? said,?"Against the backdrop of the novel coronavirus pandemic and its connection to wet markets, it's high time we put an end to such practices of keeping these exotic species as pets and refrain from illegal wildlife trade. Let them live in their natural habitat."
¡°We have taken the custody of these animals and they are currently in Silchar. Our vets are monitoring their health and their condition is found to be good. But the Hyacinth macaws are very delicate, so we have decided to get all the animals to Assam State Zoo today,¡± News 18 quoted Sunnydeo Choudhary, Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) as saying.?
The state forest department is not ruling out chances that this racket might be a part of a larger international cartel involved in illegal trafficking.?
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