Airport officials made a chilling discovery of several exotic animals in a passenger's bag in Mumbai, India.
What's happening?
According to Mid-Day, the officials found two kinkajous, two pygmy marmosets, and 50 albino red-eared sliders. Kinkajous are relatives of raccoons, and marmosets are monkeys. The sliders are a kind of turtle.
Officials arrested the passenger under India's Customs Act of 1962 as well as the Wildlife (Protection) Act of 1972. They gave the animals to the proper authorities. An investigation is underway to figure out where the animals came from.
Why is animal smuggling concerning?
When people take animals from their homes, they risk everyone's health and safety.
Rare, an environmental organization, says wildlife trafficking can spread zoonotic diseases and negatively impact the resources we use regularly like food supply chains. It can even contribute to the endangerment or extinction of a species.
Pygmy marmosets are on the International Union for Conservation of Nature's Red List. The organization considers both species to be vulnerable, and their numbers are declining. If they don't start to recover soon, they risk extinction.
Primates, like marmosets, are great at carrying around seeds. When we remove them from their environments, we also risk losing the biodiversity of that environment. Native plants may decrease in numbers, and animals may lose their main source of food.
Smuggling wildlife can also lead to the spread of an invasive species, which can destroy ecosystems and affect the health of native plants and wildlife critical to biodiversity and food webs.
If we allow animals to exist in peace, we don't have to spend money on fixing dying ecosystems and food supply chains.
What's being done about animal smuggling?
Mid-Day reported that India's Directorate General of Civil Aviation has issued new guidelines for animal deportation. The goal is to put more pressure on airlines to detect exotic animals before they're illegally transported.
Prior guidelines said airlines only had to send animals immediately back to their country of origin. The new guidelines make airlines financially responsible for deportation costs.
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