The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : PO: forest wildlife specimens seizure Wildlife specimens seized

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Friday, Sep 15, 2006
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

PO: forest wildlife specimens seizure Wildlife specimens seized

Staff Reporter

Sea horses, cobras, sea snakes and other species found by authorities

ENDANGERED CONTRABAND: A Draco specimen that was seized at Sri Nagar Colony, Saidapet, on Thursday.

CHENNAI : Wildlife officials in the city seized a large quantity of dead wildlife specimens, illegally kept in a private laboratory in Saidapet on Thursday.

Ashish Kumar Srivastava, Wildlife Warden, Chennai, said following a tip off from the volunteers of People for Animals, a check was conducted in a small-scale unit on West Jones Road where a few specimens of sea horses and snakes were found. However the proprietor of the unit was away. Wildlife officials seized the specimens kept in formaldehyde.

At a second unit located on East Mada Street in Sri Nagar Colony, Saidapet, the officials seized specimens of draco, cobras, a large number of sea horses and a few other species of snakes including sea snakes.

Categorised

Most of the specimens seized are categorised under various Schedules of the Wildlife Protection Act of 1972. The second unit was taken care of by an elderly couple and the Wildlife authorities interrogated them.

Preliminary investigations by the Wildlife authorities revealed that these illegally run units allegedly trapped the specimens in the wild and later sold them to educational institutions.

Wildlife authorities added that only on Friday would the quantity of seized wildlife be known and further action decided.

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