Dogs Being Smuggled From Russia And Europe To India

Recently, many cases of dogs smuggling have come to light after some passengers were caught at the IGI Airport, Delhi, trying to smuggle in dogs stuffed in their luggage.  These passengers were coming from Eastern Europe and Russia.

Dogs stuffed in passenger bags

After the smuggling incident came to light, customs authorities at the airport started scanning all International passenger bags for dogs that might have been tucked away in the luggage.

“The dogs are sedated or stunned and put in bags,” said a source.

Sometimes, they are stuffed in between clothes and other items, so that authorities don’t find them during scanning procedure.

A new version of animal cruelty

“The animal goes through a lot of suffering. It is really painful to see them stuffed in bags,” said a source.

Last year, customs authorities caught several passengers trying to smuggle in pregnant dogs in a similar fashion. A lady passenger was detained by the authorities after a dog was found stuffed in her bag.

“These are some exotic breeds and they are sold in the local markets at a premium price,” said a source.

Customs authorities had hoped that the practice would stop after Government banned the import of foreign dog breeds. But it has started again this year and new cases have been detected.

“We keep a close watch on flights from Russia and those which arrive from Eastern Europe,” said a source.

It is now believed that some organized syndicates are behind this kind of smuggling. As there have been a huge demand for foreign dog breeds in India, there is a lot of pressure on breeders to meet the demands. However, all the attempts for smuggling dogs into India have been thwarted by customs authorities at the Airports.

Investigation on the way

Sources say that due to a growing “dog fights” trend that is catching on in Punjab and some areas of Delhi, various agencies might be getting involved in smuggling foreign dog breeds in India.

“These dogs are sedated, they are hungry and when they are made to fight they often end up killing the opponent. The department was probing the cases to end the menace” said the source.

Any passenger who plans to bring a pet into country has to obtain a certificate from the authorities. In several cases customs officials have found that the same certificate was being recycled to bring in other dogs.

“We have come across several cases where an attempt to recycle the same certificate was made. Our officers nabbed them each time,” said a source.

Senior revenue department officials said they are probing all the cases and are trying to find out the end beneficiaries of this smuggling racket.

Reference: The Time Of India

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