Details were sought about the death of a female lar gibbon, which was not reported to the authorities.
| Photo Credit: File photo
A probe by the Forest Department and the Tamil Nadu Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (TNWCCB) at the Erode farm owned by a breeder who sold the lar gibbon featured in actor Vikram’s video has revealed that several other exotic species, including African serval cats, were being kept without proper supporting documents.K.V. Appala Naidu, District Forest Officer, Erode, told The Hindu the registration process for the animals was incomplete and the owner had been asked to produce the required documents. Details have also been sought regarding the death of a female lar gibbon, which was not reported to the authorities, as reporting such an incident is mandatory under the Living Animal Species (Reporting and Registration) Rules, 2024, he said.During an inspection of the premises, officials found African servals, including three cubs. The department has widened its probe to investigate the cats, a wild cat found across much of sub-Saharan Africa.A TNWCCB official said the Department had sought documents relating to their acquisition and ownership to establish their source and trace the chain of ownership. The documents available with The Hindu show that S.K. Kesavanathan, the Erode-based breeder, had declared a wide variety of exotic species with the Forest Department. These include the cotton-top tamarin, a primate native to Colombia; the red-handed tamarin; and black-tufted marmoset from South America.One of the declarations lists multiple species native to the Amazon, such as blue-fronted, orange-winged, red-lored, southern mealy, and yellow-crowned amazons. Several of the 2021 proposals in the documents, however, are marked as “pending at Wildlife Warden”.Under the Living Animal Species (Reporting and Registration) Rules, 2024, possession of animals listed under Schedule IV of the Wild Life (Protection) Act has to be reported and registered. For animals acquired through import after the commencement of the 2022 amendment, the application has to be accompanied by a copy of the import licence and the CITES export permit or certificate, where applicable. The application is then scrutinised, followed by an inquiry and physical verification of the facility by the Conservator of Forests, before the registration certificate is issued. The latest find at the farm has also highlighted gaps in the verification process, particularly in establishing the provenance of animals and ensuring that the documents submitted by owners correspond to the animals actually held at their facilities. Often, field-level forest staff are deputed for such inspections and may not always have the expertise to accurately identify the species being kept, sources said.Animal activist and conservationist Shravan Krishnan said experts should be involved in the verification process, as it can be difficult to accurately identify the species of birds and small mammals, particularly when they are young. He said that at a time when the government is prioritising microchipping of pets such as dogs and cats, a similar mechanism to individually identify exotic animals is needed. At present, Mr. Krishnan said the breeders or owners can declare a set of animals and subsequently import or sell animals of the same species without necessarily having to produce fresh documents for each individual animal.Conservation criminologist Shankar Prakash pointed out that the government currently lacks the infrastructure to house exotic animals once they are seized. “If it is a native animal, they seize it and release it back into its natural environment. But for exotic animals, they do not have any place right now to quarantine them,” he said.He said this was one of the logistical challenges in enforcing the Wild Life (Protection) Amendment Act, 2022, which introduced a new Schedule IV to cover specimens of species listed in the CITES Appendices. “Creating the necessary infrastructure will address these logistical challenges and help enforce seizures better,” he said. Published - August 13, 2026 11:12 pm IST
