Northeast serving as transit route for animal trafficking: Assam forest official

Exotic animal trafficking is using India's northeast area as a transit route to numerous nations in North and Southeast Asia. While speaking to the news agency PTI, an official from the Assam forest department confirmed this.

“Traffickers have now shifted their attention to other rare animals, including the gecko, pangolin, and more recently kangaroo and chimpanzees with North East India serving as a transit route for the trafficking of the animals,” the official said.

Wildlife trafficking is a huge worry in the Northeast, according to the official, as poachers target endangered and unusual creatures. On Tuesday, police rescued at least five chimps from the Dilai region of the Bokajan sub-division in the Karbi Anglong district of Assam.