Otter skins seizures in Assam signal continued trade in animal parts
Though some of the species are vulnerable, they does not receive adequate conservation attention.
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On May 23, in a joint operation carried out by the sleuths of the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau along with Dhemaji forest department, four otter skins were seized from a man at Jonai in Dhemaji district of Assam. While seizure of otter parts is not very common, this recent incident highlighted the fact that smuggling and poaching of otters for their skin and other body parts is taking place in northeast India.
Otters are carnivorous mammals belonging to the Mustelidae family which includes weasels, badgers, minks and the like. They are one of the top predators found in river ecosystems across the country. Out of the 13 otter species found globally, three are found in India – the Eurasian otter, smooth-coated otter and small-clawed otter.
Speaking about the raid in Assam, Dibakar Mahanta, a forest official from Dhemaji forest department told Mongabay-India, “We received a tip-off about a person hailing from East Siang district in Arunachal Pradesh, carrying a few otter skins. Based on that lead, we nabbed him from the Nepalibasti area of Jonai, a subdivision in Dhemaji. He said he is just a carrier and his job was to transport these skins to another person in Gogamukh. He said he is unaware about...
