TRAFFIC, WWF-India create awareness on owls

In a conservation initiative, TRAFFIC and WWF-India have identified 16 species of owls that are commonly trafficked in the illegal wildlife trade in India.

To raise awareness about these owl species and help with their identification, TRAFFIC and WWF-India have created an informative poster, ‘Imperilled by illegal wildlife trade: Owls of India’, which is freely available to download.

Out of the approximately 250 owl species found worldwide about 36 are found in India. All owl species in India are protected under the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, making poaching, trade, or any other form of exploitation a punishable offence.

They are also listed in Appendix II of CITES, thus tightly regulating their international trade.

Despite the legal restrictions, every year, hundreds of birds are sacrificed for mystic rituals and practices linked with superstitions, totems, and taboos across the country, and this usually peaks around the festival of Diwali.

Especially in smaller towns and villages, the use of owl parts such as the skull, feathers, ear tuffs, claws, heart, liver, kidney, blood, eyes, fat, beak, tears, eggshells, meat, and bones are prescribed for ceremonial pujas and rituals.

Of the owl species found in India, 16 species are most commonly reported in the illegal wildlife trade and these are Asian Barred Owlet (Glaucidium cuculoides), Barn Owl (Tyto alba), Brown Fish Owl (Ketupa zeylonensis), Brown Hawk Owl (Ninox scutulata), Brown Wood-owl (Strix leptogrammica), Collared Owlet (Glaucidium brodiei), Collared Scops-owl (Otus bakkamoena), Dusky Eagle Owl (Bubo coromandus), Eastern Grass-owl (Tyto longimembris), Jungle Owlet (Glaucidium radiatum), Mottled Wood-owl (Strix ocellata), Oriental Scops-owl (Otus sunia), Rock Eagle-owl (Bubo bengalensis), Spot-bellied Eagle-owl (Bubo nipalensis), Spotted Owlet (Athene brama), and Tawny Fish-owl (Ketupa flavipes).

“The poaching and trafficking of owls in India have become a lucrative illicit trade resting on the wings of superstition”, said Dr Saket Badola, Head of TRAFFIC’s India Office.

“Lack of awareness about owls in the illegal wildlife trade and the limited capacity of enforcement agencies to identify them has made this illegal activity difficult to detect or curb. We are hopeful that our new identification poster will help to bridge this enforcement gap,” he added.

Ravi Singh, Secretary-General and CEO of WWF-India, said, “Owls as birds of prey play a crucial role in balancing our ecosystem and as friends of farmers, keeping rodents in check. They also have a strong cultural significance and often elicit strong emotions ranging from fascination, awe, hate, to disdain. The continuing trend of these birds being exploited for illegal trade needs to be negated through concerted action. A strong citizen support, generated through public awareness can go a long way in their conservation”.

Dr Dhananjai Mohan, Director, Wildlife Institute of India, added, “Owls keep a check on agricultural pests, reducing the dependence on pesticides. It is important to conserve and protect the species and such initiatives by TRAFFIC and WWF-India are impactful and will hopefully contribute towards curbing illicit trade of owls in the country”.