Wildlife in the Pandemic

After the WHO declared COVID-19 to be a global pandemic on 13th March 2020, the Indian government took to action. On the 25th of March 2020, India announced a complete lockdown which was ultimately extended till June 8. During the initial days of the sudden lockdown, people from cities and towns flocked to their rural homes.

This led to increased pressure on the already constrained rural resources. Loss of jobs coupled with the lack of food in the strict lockdown turned humans towards wildlife and forest resources.

The frequency of poaching incidents increased two-fold from the pre-lockdown numbers during the lockdown months.

Ungulates and small mammals were the categories of animals that were most affected by the increase in poaching. The hunting of ungulates and small mammals increased two-fold. It is no coincidence that these animals are used for consumption by locals. The flesh of these animals is sold in the local markets as well. These wild animals were poached mainly to compensate for the loss of livelihood that the locals have had.

There was a slight decrease in poaching incidents of birds and that of big cats like tiger and leopard remained the same at 20%. Bird seizures went down from 14% to 7% and the objective of hunting changed as well. Earlier, small exotic birds were hunted for the international wildlife trade. In the lockdown, the proportion of large birds was found to be higher, for consumption of their meat.

There has been a decrease in the international trade of exotic species due to the lack of transport facilities in the strict lockdowns of India. Most serial offenders are afraid of stockpiling due to the frequent raids from wildlife conservation officials.