New Delhi: ‘Think before you act’. As children, many of us learnt this moral through the popular fable – The Mongoose and The Farmer’s Wife. Now, the mongoose needs us to think and to act; and fast, before it is ‘painted’ out.
Thousands of individuals are believed killed annually in the country as a result of the continued global demand for paint brushes made from mongoose hair. Make-up artists, painters and even children in many countries are unwitting accomplices to this brutal murder in India – considered a major illegal exporter.
“The trade is rampant but rarely highlighted, as the focus remains on the larger more charismatic mammals,” says Jose Louies, Manager –Wildlife Trust of India (WTI).
The continued trade in mongoose hair paint brushes has been proven by occasional seizures in the country. The latest incident was the seizure of a consignment of 1300 brushes, and arrest of a trader by the Kolkata authorities. It was a result of an eight-month long covert investigation by the WTI’s Enforcement Assistance Team, following a tip-off received from the United States.
Interrogation revealed that the accused had been exporting mongoose hair paint brushes, among other banned wildlife products, for over two decades.
The accused also admitted that ‘these paint brushes are preferred by artists and also used in fashion industry as a make-up kit accessory’. A wily trader, he advised the proxy buyer on couriering the goods rather than carrying it in person, comparing it to trade in illegal drugs.
The accused reportedly had a lucrative business running, dealing with buyers in at least seven countries over the internet.
“Yet another incident to show that we need to spare focus on the virtual world too for wildlife protection,” added Louies, who had carried out the groundwork leading to the first arrest of online wildlife traders in India in 2008. This is the fourth online wildlife crime cracked by the WTI team since then.
The persecution of mongoose for production of paint brushes was made common knowledge by the award-winning documentary ‘A Brush with Death’ by filmmaker Syed Fayaz and WTI, produced as part of a study that began in April 2002. The documentary contained footage of undercover operations revealing the scale and brutality of the trade; it was screened before policy makers, media and wildlife conservationists to generate awareness.
“A number of seizures were carried out with our team assisting authorities in various parts of the country during the study,” recalled Ashok Kumar, Vice-chairman, WTI. “One particular seizure in Moradabad, Uttar Pradesh, involved a haul of paintbrushes that amounted to 50,000 dead mongooses.”
Acting swiftly, the Indian government in a notification dated October 11, 2002, upgraded all species of genus Herpestes (mongoose) to Schedule II Part II in the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972. With this upgradation from Schedule IV, the mongoose received the highest level of protection accorded to wildlife in the country, equivalent to that received by the tiger. A conviction for illegal trade at present, can lead to a maximum sentence of seven years’ imprisonment.
Mongoose also finds international protection through restriction of exports, being listed in Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna (CITES).
A case has been registered against the accused in the latest seizure in Kolkata. However, the accused is currently on conditional bail granted to him for medical reasons.
“This seizure was not as big as the earlier seizures, but it clearly indicates an overseas demand for these paint brushes. Do we or our children really need to use these blood-stained paint brushes that can cause these species to go extinct, when there are alternatives available. We cannot afford to lose our wildlife to lack of awareness, or apathy, and tackling this requires concerted effort,” said Kumar, calling for teachers and parents to help prevent unknowing use of mongoose hair paintbrushes by children.
mongoose hair brush exporter arrested after online investigation from Jose Louies on Vimeo.
