Experts want total ban on peacock feather sale

eacock feathers are, no doubt, a thing of beauty, coveted by many as a decorative item. The problem, though, was that to meet this demand, the birds began to be hunted, which prompted a ban on the sale of peacock feathers in 2001, in accordance with the rules of the Wildlife Protection Act of 1972. Unfortunately, though, the rule came with a loophole — feathers shed naturally could be collected and sold — which traders (mostly illegal) made the most of.The question, naturally, was, how does one determine if a feather is legally obtained or not?
A recent case of two people selling peacock feathers in Bengaluru being let off scot-free by the forest department has put the focus back on this issue. Wildlife rescuer Rajesh Kumar M has started an online petition seeking amendment of the Wildlife Protection Act 1972 to ban sale of peacock feathers completely.
Rajesh says, “The killing of peacocks for feathers falls under trophy trade. After I spotted peacock feathers being sold in Bengaluru, I was told that the people selling these feathers were not in possession of any paperwork to verify the source of the feathers. What makes this whole operation look suspect is that one peacock can shed only up to 300 grams of feather and the sheer quantity that is in circulation for trade points to an illegal source, probably, poachers.”
He adds that people are using the exemption in the law to kill the birds and claim natural shedding. “The last peacock census was in 1991, so there is no telling how much harm has already been done. The Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change is looking at amending the Wildlife Protection Act 1972, which bans the sale of peacock feathers, since 2001,” says Rajesh. What has also irked activists is that the traders were let go without any penalty. Environmentalist Manjunath Janakiram says, “If you were to collect feathers shed by a peacock naturally, it will take quite a lot of time to get the quantity that was being peddled. These feathers are brought into Karnataka from states like Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra, which indicates that there is organised killing of the birds. The officials should have booked a case under Section 57 of the Wildlife Protection Act, which states that it can be presumed that the person is in unlawful possession of the peacock articles in huge quantity. We are exploring legal options to stop the sale of peafowl feathers.”