PROTECTION OF WILD BIRDS IN INDIA. \u\ 



only interesting, but instructive as showing the methods adopted"* by 

 smugglers engaged in the plume traffic : — < 



BENGAL. 



(a). In April 1903 a Chinese firm were caught exporting a case of King- 

 fishers' skins. They were fined Es. 1,000, and the skins were confiscated. 

 The goods were declared as " Fishmaws." 



(b). In October 1904, another firm were caught exporting three cases of 

 Peacock feathers. The goods were intended for Hamburg, and were 

 declared as " Indian curios." The firm was fined Es. 500, and the feathers 

 were confiscated. 



(c). In August 1905 another Chinese firm were detected exporting, IS 

 cases of Kingfishers' skins. They were intended for Hongkong, and 

 were declared as " Tobacco." An examination of their books showed that 

 since the prohibition of 1902 they had made no less than nine shipments of 

 such goods. They were, therefore, fined Es. 10,000. 



(d). In the same year it came to light that a German firm in Calcutta 

 had on various occasions smuggled consignments of Osprey, Heron and 

 Grey Paddy Birds' feathers to the value of Es. 22,850. They were fined 

 Es. 7,200. The goods were intended for London via Hamburg and Bremen. 



0). In January 1906 a Mahomedan presented a shipping bill for 

 " three baskets of slippers," which really contained Kingfishers' skins to 

 the value of Es. 800. The consignment was intercepted. 



if). In June 1906 a consignment of five parcels, containing Osprey 

 feathers, which had been posted in Calcutta addressed to Colombo under a 

 misdescription "Pieces of yellow cloth" was detected. This case is a 

 typical one, and is illustrative of the procedure sometimes adopted by 

 smugglers. When they find it difficult to ship goods from a particular port, 

 they send them by post, and if they wish to make sure that they will not 

 be seized in the post, then, instead of despatching them direct to a foreign 

 address, they post them to some small Indian port, whence they can be 

 redespatched with less fear of detection ; or else they send them to a 

 similar intermediate destination by rail. 



BOMBAY. 

 {a). During 1907-1908 two cases of smuggling of feathers occurred in this 

 Presidency. In one case 41 packets of Egrets' feathers from Eangoon 

 were intercepted at short intervals by the Bombay Post Office. The 

 feathers, which were of very considerable value, were confiscated. In the 

 other case 25 large boxes of Peacock feathers were shipped from Singapore 

 on their way to Europe under a false shipping bill in which the contents 

 ■were declared as "Country Cotton goods," and the identity of the ship- 

 pers concealed. The shippers were traced with much difficulty, and 

 severely dealt with, while the feathers were confiscated. 



