Sale of mongoose hair paintbrushes thriving in India

New Delhi: Two thousand paint brushes made of banned mongoose hair were recently seized from two different places in the Capital.

Its hair was widely used in high-quality paintbrushes, leading to large-scale killing of this animal. Despite a complete ban on mongoose hunting, the trade is rampant.

A CNN-IBN Special Investigation Team went undercover to expose a link of this trade. Subsequently two men, one shop-keeper and one paint brush manufacturer were arrested by the National Wildlife Crime Bureau and Delhi Forest Department.

The first stop was Janta stationary shop located at Nai Sadak in Delhi. The largest stationary wholesale market in Delhi, the sop sells high-quality paintbrushes.

Kamal, the manufacturer, showed the team some mongoose hair paintbrush samples.

Kamal: Yeh gilhari ke baal hain. (This is mongoose hair)

CNN-IBN: Accha. (Okay)

CNN-IBN: Kiske baal hain? (What hair did you say?)

Kamal: Gilhari ke baal hain. (Mongoose hair)

The SIT placed bulk orders with two traders. Despite the ban, both are willing to supply upto Rs 2,000 mongoose paintbrushes.

CNN-IBN: Aur bulk order kitna hota hai? (What are the rates for bulk order?)

Shop owner: Aap jitna marzee le lijiye, teen rupaya lag jayega. (Take whatever you want to. Will charge only Rs 3)

After confirming that the hair used in the paintbrushes was indeed mongoose hair - CNN-IBN informed the National Wildlife Crime Bureau, recently set up by the Prime Minister to control wildlife crime.

As soon as Kamal produces the banned brushes the inspectors move in quickly.

Kamal who is a paintbrush manufacturer has just been arrested by the National Wildlife Crime Bureau. Almost 1000 paintbrushes that are made up of mongoose hair have been confiscated from him.

Wildlife Crime Control Bureau Assistant Director B S Gurm said, “We are going to identify this material and produce him to court and take him in police remand.”

CNN-IBN’s second destination was back to Nai Sadak.

The shop keeper Navin Jain in Nai Sadak agreed to supply up to 1000 brushes.

CNN-IBN:Apko pata hai ki yeh wildlife act me banned hai (Do you know that this doesn’t come under Wildlife Act?)

Navin Hmm: Pata hai na? (Yes I know about it)

Wildlife Trust of India Vice Chairman Ashok Kumar said, “We are finding that this trade is resurfacing and now there is a need, a great need for authorities to revisit the problem and control it.”

In the little shop in the heart of Country's Capital, this is the proof that mongoose trade is still alive in India.

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