300 monitor lizard skins seized in TN in April

Chennai, India: In an operation across Tamil Nadu, wildlife officials in April seized from different districts more than 300 monitor lizard skins meant for making the percussion instrument kanjira. At Aduthurai in Thanjavur district, state wildlife crime control bureau conducted checks and arrested one accused, 72, and seized 200 monitor lizard skins and 63 small pieces of skin along with 24 kanjiras. State forest secretary Supriya Sahu said following a tip-off, a team led by Chennai district forest officer V A Saravanan raided shops selling musical instruments. The owners informed officials about the source of the monitor lizard skins. “We detained a couple of people involved in trapping and skinning monitor lizards. They sold the skins to musical instrument shops, which made kanjiras.”  There have been some efforts to use artificial fibre to make kanjiras.

As monitor lizard (Varanus bengalensis) is protected under Schedule I of the Wildlife Protection Act, mking kanjiras using its skin is prohibited. As per the provisions of the Act, illegal possession and trade of any Scheduled species, or parts thereof, is a punishable offence that attracts imprisonment for up to seven years. However, poaching of monitor lizards for their skin and meat has been rampant in the state in recent times, with the result that their population in the wild is steadily declining. The department is making all efforts to curb this illegal trade, she said. Researchers say the lack of population data is one of the reasons for its decline in the wild. Secondly, these animals are killed for their meat, which is said to have medicinal properties. There is a great demand for its blood and other body parts in Karnataka, they added.

Source: (Times of India)