Executive Summary:
This document is a response to Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. 2436 regarding wildlife trafficking, to be answered on August 4, 2025. It details the number of registered wildlife crime cases and seized illegal wildlife articles, rescued and rehabilitated animals, government initiatives for prevention, measures to strengthen surveillance, and steps to curb illegal wildlife trade. It also addresses the expansion of the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB).
Key Points / Main Content:
Wildlife Protection and Enforcement:
* Conservation, management, and protection of wildlife, including prevention of illegal trafficking, is primarily the responsibility of State Governments and Union Territory Administrations.
* The Wild Life Protection Act, 1972, empowers States and UTs for seizures and registering offenses.
* Details of wildlife crime cases registered are reported by State and Central law enforcement agencies to the WCCB, as per Annexure I.
WCCB Operations and Coordination:
* The WCCB collates and shares intelligence with states and enforcement agencies to combat organized wildlife crime and issues actionable alerts.
* The WCCB coordinates with States and other authorities for enforcement of the Wild Life Protection Act, 1972.
* The WCCB conducts interagency coordination meetings, joint operations, and capacity building for State police, forests, and Customs officials.
* The WCCB conducts sensitization programs for border guarding forces and awareness programs for Panchayati Raj institutions.
* The WCCB collaborates with international agencies such as SAWEN, INTERPOL, and UNODC.
* India is a party to CITES, and its provisions were incorporated into the Wild Life Protection Act, 1972, via a 2022 amendment.
Training and Awareness Programs:
* Training programs for government officials and awareness campaigns/community outreach programs have been conducted by WCCB.
* Training programs: 119 (2020-21), 208 (2021-22), 193 (2022-23), 157 (2023-24), 129 (2024-25).
* Awareness campaigns and community outreach programs: 03 (2020-21), 28 (2021-22), 38 (2022-23), 37 (2023-24), 22 (2024-25).
WCCB Expansion:
* The Government has established regional and sub-regional offices of the WCCB.
* The State of Andhra Pradesh is covered under the jurisdiction of the southern regional office of the WCCB.
Impact Analysis:
State Governments and Union Territory Administrations:
* Impact: Responsible for wildlife conservation, management, protection, and prevention of illegal trafficking within their jurisdiction. Empowered to make seizures and register offenses under the Wild Life Protection Act, 1972.
* Action Required: Enforce the Wild Life Protection Act, 1972; report wildlife crime cases to the WCCB.
Forest Officials, Customs Personnel, Railway Police:
* Impact: Need to be trained to prevent wildlife trafficking.
* Action Required: Participate in training programs conducted by the WCCB.
Law Enforcement Agencies:
* Impact: Collaborate with the WCCB in joint operations and interagency coordination meetings.
* Action Required: Coordinate with the WCCB and other agencies to enforce wildlife protection laws.
Border Guarding Forces:
* Impact: Increased awareness about wildlife trafficking issues.
* Action Required: Participate in sensitization programs conducted by the WCCB.
Panchayati Raj Institutions:
* Impact: Increased awareness about wildlife trafficking issues.
* Action Required: Participate in awareness programs conducted by the WCCB.
Key Entities Referenced
Wild Life Protection Act, 1972: An act of the Parliament of India enacted in 1972 to provide for the protection of wild animals, birds and plants.
Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB): A statutory multi-disciplinary body established by the Government of India under the Ministry of Environment and Forests to combat organized wildlife crime.
Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of wild fauna and flora (CITES): An international agreement between governments to ensure that international trade in specimens of wild animals and plants does not threaten their survival.
Lok Sabha: The lower house of the Parliament of India.
Andhra Pradesh: A state in southern India.
SAWEN: South Asia Wildlife Enforcement Network; an intergovernmental wildlife law enforcement support body.
INTERPOL: The International Criminal Police Organization, facilitates worldwide police cooperation and crime control.
UNODC: United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime.
GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE
LOK SABHA
UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2436
TO BE ANSWERED ON 04.08.2025
Wildlife Trafficking
2436. DR. D. PURANDESWARI:
Will the Minister of ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE be pleased to
state:
(a) the details of the number of wildlife crime cases registered and the quantity of seized
illegal wildlife articles during the last five years, State and year-wise;
(b) the details of the number of animals rescued and successfully rehabilitated from
trafficking operations during the said period, State and year-wise;
(c) the details of initiatives undertaken by the Government to train forest officials, customs
personnel, railway police for prevention of the wildlife trafficking along with the public
awareness campaigns and community outreach programmes;
(d) the measures taken/being taken to strengthen surveillance and enforcement along
international borders, especially in the trafficking-prone regions;
(e) the steps taken by the Government to curb illegal wildlife trade and trafficking across
India; and
(f) whether the Government is considering to expand Wildlife Crime Control Bureau’s
(WCCB) capacity or establish regional wildlife crime units to increase ground-level
enforcement, particularly in Andhra Pradesh?
ANSWER
MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND
CLIMATE CHANGE
(SHRI KIRTI VARDHAN SINGH)
(a) to (b) Conservation, management and protection of the wildlife, including prevention of
illegal trafficking, is primarily the responsibility of the respective States
Governments and Union Territory Administrations. The Wild Life (Protection) Act,
1972 empowers States Governments and Union Territory Administrations for
making seizures, and registering offence in case of contravention of the provisions
of the Act. Details of the wildlife crime cases registered, as reported by the State
and Central law enforcement agencies to the Wild Life Crime Control Bureau
(WCCB) are placed at Annexure-I.
(c)to (e) The Wild Life Crime Control Bureau(WCCB) collates and shares intelligence with
states and enforcement agencies to combat the organized wildlife crime, and also
issues actionable alerts regarding illegal wildlife trade.The Bureau coordinates with
the States Governments and other authorities for enforcement of the provisions of
the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972.The WCCB conducts interagency coordination
meetings, joint operations with the law enforcement agencies, undertakes capacitybuilding of the State police, forests and Customs officials. It also conducts
sensitization programme for the border guarding forces and awareness programmes
for the Panchayati Raj institutions.
The details of the trainings, awareness campaigns and community outreach
programmes undertaken by the WCCB during last five years are as follows:
Details of training Years
awareness and outreach 2020- 2021- 2022- 2023- 2024-
programmes 21 22 23 24 25
a) Training programmes 119 208 193 157 129
conducted for Government
officials
b) Awareness campaigns 03 28 38 37 22
and community outreach
programmes
WCCB also collaborates with International agencies like SAWEN, INTERPOL and
UNODC to combat the organized wildlife crime. India is a Party to the Convention
on International Trade in Endangered Species of wild fauna and flora (CITES) and
has incorporated the provisions of CITES in the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972,
through an amendment to the act in 2022.
(f) The Government has established regional and sub-regional offices of the Wild Life
Crime Control Bureau to cater to the needs for controlling organized wildlife crime.
The area of State of Andhra Pradesh is covered under the jurisdiction of the
southern regional office of the Wild Life Crime Control Bureau.
***Annexure-I
Annexure referred to in reply to parts (a) to (b) of the Lok Sabha Unstarred Question
No. 2436 due for reply on 04.08.2025 regarding “Wildlife Trafficking”
Details of Wildlife Crime Cases registered in last five years:
S.No. Name of States/UTs 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
1 A& N Islands 1 1 0 5 36
2 Andhra Pradesh 29 38 48 21 17
3 Arunachal Pradesh 4 4 3 3 -
4 Assam 40 41 42 29 26
5 Bihar 2 8 4 12 8
6 Chandigarh - 1 1 - -
7 Chhattisgarh 14 6 8 7 1
8 Goa 12 1 12 8 4
9 Gujarat 6 8 9 7 6
10 Haryana 99 110 3 5 26
11 Himachal Pradesh 24 37 6 7 2
12 Jammu & Kashmir 18 4 1 5 -
13 Jharkhand 2 3 18 12 4
14 Karnataka 25 16 26 14 3
15 Kerala 6 6 3 5 1
16 Madhya Pradesh 30 40 28 33 14
17 Maharashtra 18 27 14 11 7
18 Manipur 1 - 0 3 1
19 Meghalaya 28 13 28 1 1
20 Mizoram - - 0 1 1
21 Nagaland - 2 2 - 1
22 Odisha 56 27 32 13 15
23 Rajasthan - 6 3 5 17
24 Sikkim - - - - -
25 Tamil Nadu 74 26 52 26 22
26 Telangana 44 3 4 - -
27 Uttar Pradesh 131 64 53 19 30
28 Uttarakhand 48 33 37 23 13
29 West Bengal 71 81 76 48 73
30 Puducherry - - - - -
31 Lakshadweep 7 16 13 - 1
32 Delhi 7 3 6 12 2
33 Tripura 11 3 12 1 3
34 Punjab 12 4 2 13 18
35 Daman & Diu - - - - 1
36 Dara & Nagar Haveli - - - - -
***