Online selling of wildlife part with spurious name: a serious challenge for wildlife crime enforcement

Abstract

We examined an online sold product "Hatha Jodi" synonym of "paired arm" for the confirmation of its biological source. It was declared as a plant root. The morphological features of these samples were matched with the "intromittent organs" or "hemi penis" of the monitor lizard. For further confirmation, we used sequencing of a partial fragment of mitochondrial DNA cytochrome b gene. Sequence comparison indicated that these claimed plant products were actually biological samples of a common monitor lizard, Varanus bengalensis. Hence, it exhibited the ongoing illegal trade of the intromittent organ of a prohibited species with a misleading name using low risk and widely adopted modern trading method that imposes a severe challenge for combating against the wildlife crime.

Current wildlife crime (Indian scenario): major challenges and prevention approaches

“…There are several unlicensed and open markets in India where animals, birds and plants are sold as food, pets, ornamental plants and medicines. Since such trade is openly available in India, while some are licensed and legalized, sellers can furtively sell (offline/online) some endangered species according to customer demand, with spurious names (Sharma et al 2018 ), it is often difficult to confiscate and segregate them from wild species. Several illegal wildlife activities are undermined and ignored around the seller’s profit and buyer’s charm.…”

“…The foresters and police officers in-charge should closely and coordinately monitor wildlife trade in open markets (including online markets) as well as clandestine markets (Sharma et al 2018 ) to put a check on illegal wildlife trade (IWT) with special force and using the latest technology. Many of the IWT activities are usually driven by socio-economic inequalities, such as ill-education, unemployment and poverty, and therefore the wildlife stakeholders should also engage local community to stop wildlife poaching (Roe et al 2019 ).…”

An overview of risk investment in the transnational illegal wildlife trade from stakeholder perspectives

“…To reduce the risk of interception, promoters often advertise products cryptically (Sharma et al, 2019; Yu & Jia, 2015). The use of code words or spurious descriptions for specimens can prevent detection through social media and e‐commerce platforms, propagating illicit trades (Sharma et al, 2019; Yu & Jia, 2015). Furthermore, promoters may sustain trade by reducing risk in the clandestine promotion of the product through keeping the buyer uninformed as to how the product is sourced.…”

Himalayan upliftment and Shiwalik succession act as a cradle for divergence in Bengal monitor lizard Varanus bengalensis (Reptilia: Varanidae) in India

“…All four extant monitor lizard species in India are protected under Schedule I of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, because of their high demand in the wildlife trade for skin as a leather product and in musical instruments, and eggs and meat for local consumption, traditional medicines, superstitious beliefs and retaliatory killings (Das, 1989; Koch et al., 2013; Bhattacharya and Koch, 2018; TRAFFIC, 2021). Lately, illegal exploitation of monitor lizard genitalia (the “hemipenis”) has been rampant under the pseudonym of “Hatha jodi” in India (Sharma et al., 2019). In the last 4 years, the Wildlife Forensic and Conservation Genetics Cell at the Wildlife Institute of India has received more than 500 confiscated hemipenes of monitor lizards through different enforcement agencies with unknown geographical origin.…”