In news

Supreme Court upheld an Allahabad High Court order granting immunity from investigation and prosecution if one declared illegal acquisition or possession of exotic wildlife species between June and December.

Government’s voluntary disclosure scheme?

• The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) has come out with an advisory on a one-time voluntary disclosure scheme that allows owners of exotic live species that have been acquired illegally, or without documents, to declare their stock to the government between June and December 2020.
• In its current form, however, the amnesty scheme is just an advisory, not a law.

Aim

• To address the challenge of zoonotic diseases, develop an inventory of exotic live species for better compliance
• The compliance is under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), and regulate their import. 

Exotic wildlife 

• The advisory has defined exotic live species as animals named under the Appendices I, II and III of the CITES. It does not include species from the Schedules of the Wild Life (Protection) Act 1972.
• Appendices I, II and III of CITES list 5,950 species as protected against over-exploitation through international trade. Many of these animals, such as iguanas, lemurs, civets, albino monkeys, coral snakes, tortoises, are popular as exotic pets in India. 

The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI), which enforces anti-smuggling laws, says India has emerged as a big demand centre for exotic birds and animals with an increase in smuggling of endangered species from different parts of the world.
Most of this exotic wildlife is imported through Illegal channels and then sold in the domestic market as pets.

Source: Indian Express