Workshop on illegal wildlife trade held

The wildlife traffickers trick law enforcement agencies by adopting new strategies to smuggle numerous precious species and use of innovative technology at airports and other routes can help curb the crime. Syed Mahmood Nasir, Inspector General Forests at Ministry of Climate Change, said this here on Wednesday, while speaking at a consultative workshop on importance of stopping the wildlife trafficking.
The workshop is part of the project, "Combating Illegal Wildlife Trade by Establishing a National Monitoring Network that Benefits Local Communities and Environment." He said the traffickers have been using innovative ways to get through the security checks at exit points of the country; therefore training of relevant law enforcement personnel on the subject is of utmost importance to curb the crime. The Inspector General Forests referred to a recent incidence of black spotted pond turtles seizures at the Lahore airport as an example, in which 144 anaesthetised turtles were carried wrapped in a crockery consignment. "The WWF should use project funds to make use of modern technology for identification of wildlife species at the airports," he said.-PR