Do wildlife crimes against less charismatic species go unnoticed? A case study of Golden Jackal Canis aureus Linnaeus, 1758 poaching and trade in India

Authors

  • Malaika Mathew Chawla College of Science and Engineering, James Cook University, Townsville QLD 4811, Australia. https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9402-5951
  • Arjun Srivathsa School of Natural Resources and Environment, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA. https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2935-3857
  • Priya Singh Researchers for Wildlife Conservation, National Centre for Biological Sciences,  Rajiv Gandhi Nagar, Kodigehalli, Bengaluru, Karnataka 560065, India. https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6069-3257
  • Iravatee Majgaonkar Centre for Biodiversity and Conservation, Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment, Srirampura, Jakkur, Bengaluru, Karnataka 560064, India. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4209-3925
  • Sushma Sharma Wildlife Conservation Society–India, Rajiv Gandhi Nagar, Kodigehalli, Bengaluru, Karnataka 560097, India. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7097-0454
  • Girish Punjabi Wildlife Conservation Trust, Mafatlal Centre, 11th Floor, Nariman Point, Mumbai, Maharashtra 400021, India. https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5910-2421
  • Aditya Banerjee Conservation Initiatives, Suraj Nagar, Six Mile, Guwahati, Assam 781022, India. https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7710-3583

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.11609/jott.5783.12.4.15407-15413

Keywords:

Canis aureus, carnivores, jackal horn, management, illegal wildlife trade, poaching, wildlife trafficking

Abstract

Wildlife crimes pertaining to lesser-known species do not usually garner adequate focus or interest by enforcement and conservation agencies.  Additionally, illegal wildlife trade fuelled by religious beliefs in sorcery and superstition is an oft-neglected field of research.  To draw attention to these two broad issues, we provide a baseline analysis of open-source reports on Golden Jackal Canis aureus poaching and trade in India.  We highlight the pervasiveness of an active local and transnational ‘jackal horn’ trade, which is severely under-reported and insufficiently researched.  News reports and government seizure data reveal that, between 2013 and 2019, 126 skins, eight tails, more than 370 ‘jackal horns’, 16 skulls and two live jackals have been seized.  The demand for the illusionary ‘jackal horn’ appears to be driven by extensive online endorsement and unsubstantiated claims made by religious practitioners, targeted primarily at south Asian markets.  This preliminary study is an urgent call for concerted efforts to monitor the illegal trafficking and trade of this common species, with a particular focus on the demand and supply chains.

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Published

26-03-2020

Issue

Vol. 12 No. 4 (2020)

Section

Conservation Applications

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