Saving the Hornbills: A Struggle for Survival in India

Quick Summary

• In October 2023, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service officials intercepted a shipment of 45 hornbill skulls from Cameroon at JFK Airport, New York City.
• A recent study reports the growing trade in African hornbill parts, with international trafficking shifting focus to African species after Asian hornbills gained protection under CITES.
• Between 1999 and 2024, over 2,500 hornbills were traded in the U.S., with african species accounting for 95% of the transactions.Trade has been increasing annually by about 3%.
• Hornbill harvesting was previously linked to bushmeat but has evolved into specific targeting for foreign demand. Hunters earn $5 per skull on average while online buyers pay around $158 per item.
• Conservationists fear heavy poaching is leading to local extirpation; forests surveyed show no remaining hornbills in some areas.
• Kemp and colleagues urge CITES to protect more African forested hornbill species as an immediate measure.

Indian Opinion Analysis

The emergence of organized trade targeting Africa’s hornbill populations highlights systemic global conservation challenges that extend beyond regional boundaries. India’s rich biodiversity faces comparable threats; learning from global patterns can fortify domestic policies against wildlife trafficking. The parallels between Asia’s pangolins and hornbills underscore how protective frameworks merely shift exploitation geographically unless surveillance is synchronized worldwide.

For Indian policymakers collaborating internationally through platforms like CITES may help reduce similar cascading effects on vulnerable species back home-many already face population pressures due to habitat destruction or hunting.

Read more: Link