45 animals seized from passenger at Mumbai airport; many found dead due to suffocation

Mumbai, Jul 5 (PTI) Customs officials at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport here seized 45 wild animals, including raccoons, black foxes and iguanas, from a passenger on Saturday, an official said.

The passenger was intercepted after he arrived in the city on a Thai Airways flight in the early hours, he said.

After a search, a Customs team recovered 45 animals, among them raccoons, hyraxes (that look like rabbits), black foxes and iguanas, from his luggage.

However, many of the wild animals were already dead due to suffocation and the manner in which they were being trafficked, the official said.

Experts from the Resqink Association for Wildlife Welfare helped in the handling and stabilisation of the animals, which will be deported to their source country as per the provisions of the Wildlife Protection Act, added the official. PTI ZA NR