India bans importation of reptile skin, fur

India's Directorate of General Foreign Trade (DGFT) issued a new notification last week amending the country's trade policy, which now prohibits the importation of reptile skins, including those from crocodiles and snakes. The regulation also bans the entry of fur from chinchillas, minks and foxes in the South Asia nation.

The restriction comes after Union Cabinet Minister of Women and Child Development and known animal rights activist Maneka Sanjay Gandhi wrote a letter to Minister of State (IC) Commerce and Industry Nirmala Sitharaman, expressing the urgent need to address animal cruelty by banning the import of exotic skins. The Ministry of Environment and Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) and Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI) supported the prohibition.

In 2014, India's People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) and Humane Society International started a parallel campaign urging the government close its doors to the trade of exotic skins.

The call grew louder the following year when PETA US' investigations revealed miserable living conditions and violent slaughter of alligators and crocodiles in two reptile farms in Zimbabwe and one in the US owned by luxury brand Hermés. The organization also released a video exposé showing the cruelty the animals experience in a tannery in Vietnam. Separate fact-finding probes by PETA India showed brutal killings of snakes and lizards.

PETA believes that the fur and skin trade has driven several species on the verge of extinction and they welcome this development as hope for many animal species. "With many stylish and cruelty-free alternatives available, such as fake snake, mock croc, and faux fur, there's absolutely no need or justification for wearing animal skins or fur", PETA India government affairs liaison Nikunj Sharma said in a statement. "Animals are not fabric, and we commend the government of India for recognizing that fact."

India now joins a growing list of countries that has imposed prohibitions on animal-sourced materials due to inhumane conditions. Recently, Croatia has implemented a total ban on fur farming.