KARACHI: The customs authorities at the seaport are yet to register a case against an exporter who tried to smuggle furs out of the country, it emerged on Monday.

Sources said the delay was being caused by lack of forensic evidence needed to register an FIR.

They said two containers declared as consignments of used clothing/jackets were confiscated at the port about two months back. Upon inspection, they were found to have more than 100 furs.

“It wasn’t difficult to identify that most of the furs were of the red fox as the head of the animal was also attached with its skin. Some appeared to be of the common jackal while some looked artificial skins. Both animals are found in Pakistan,” an official close to the investigation process told Dawn.

The Sindh wildlife department, however, refused to verify the species in writing, arguing that the species needed to be scientifically identified through DNA sampling as simple physical identification could create legal problems at a later stage, he added.

The fur samples, the sources said, were later sent to a research centre in Islamabad, where experts tried to identify the species with the help of local DNA testing kits but failed.

“The reason is heavy chemical processing of the fur. So, now, the samples would be tested with the help of imported testing kits,” another official said.

The species identification, in his opinion, was necessary to start proper legal process, though the case had enough grounds for prosecution.

The exporter hadn’t declared that the consignments had furs. Besides, he didn’t present a certificate of origin (the place of the species origin) that was mandatory under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, to which Pakistan is a signatory.

The sources said that the exporter had told the customs authorities that he had bought the stuff in a second-hand clothes market.

“This recent case is yet another indicator showing the increasing scale of wildlife smuggling in Pakistan. There is a dire need for tougher laws, their implementation as well as for training the staff engaged in checking wildlife trade,” a customs official said.

According to media reports, the country has reported a number of cases of wildlife smuggling this year. They included three cases of smuggling of freshwater turtles from Karachi and Lahore and a major case of smuggling meat and parts of over 4,000 freshwater turtles.

The seizure was said to be the largest smuggled consignment in the history of Pakistan. Its investigation is still under way. Cases of houbara bustard and falcon smuggling have also been reported in various parts of the country.

Pakistan, he said, recently became the first country in the region to adopt the DNA bar-coding method to control the illegal wildlife trade. The method was used by officials in the confiscated turtle meat/parts consignment which was being shipped out of Pakistan under the label ‘fish meat’ for a black market destination in Southeast Asia.

Published in Dawn, September 1st, 2015

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