Yami Gautam Takes Up Cudgels Against Illegal Wildlife Trade

Gwalior: Bollywood actress Yami Gautam has been appointed the Brand Ambassador of WWF-India and TRAFFIC India’s Super Sniffer Programme.

Yami pledged her support to ‘Super Sniffers’ – wildlife sniffer dogs trained to detect illegal wildlife products at the Super Sniffer Graduation Ceremony at the National Training Centre for Dog (NTCD), BSF Academy, Gwalior.

At the ceremony, TRAFFIC and WWF-India’s seventh batch of 10 dogs and their handlers passed out only to join their counterparts deployed across the country, taking the total strength of TRAFFIC’s wildlife sniffer dog squads to 66. These dog squads belonging to the Forest Departments of Telangana, Maharashtra, Uttarakhand, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh and Kempegowda International Airport, Bengaluru also interacted with Yami.

Illegal wildlife trade is the fourth largest organized criminal activity globally, threatening the survival of many species the world over.

TRAFFIC with support from WWF-India launched the Super Sniffer programme in the country to help combat illegal wildlife trade in 2008. The initiative helped raise and train wildlife sniffer dog squads to strengthen anti-poaching and anti-trafficking measures of the Forest Departments and other enforcement agencies concerned with wildlife protection.

“For me, these heroic dogs are not just ‘man’s best friends’, but also nature’s best friends! I have heard some heartwarming stories of their bravery during the ceremony and I am proud to be able to help and support their cause,” Yami said.

IFS Head, Traffic India, Saket Badola said tigers, leopards, elephants, pangolins, birds, timber species like red sanders, orchids, turtles and tortoises and much other endangered wildlife are targeted for this illicit trade. “Yami’s support to the Super Sniffer programme will help us spread awareness about the issue of wildlife trafficking and poaching,” he added.

CVO, Officer Commanding NTCD, G.S Nag said they are happy to have partnered for this important cause.

Super Sniffers have undertaken at least 250 wildlife seizures in India and have been trained to detect tiger bone and skin, leopard bone and skin, elephant tusk, bear bile, and Caterpillar Fungus.