NEW DELHI, INDIA, December 11, 2002: Toy shop owners in Khan market sometimes engage tribal people to entertain Delhi’s rich kids on their birthdays with dancing bears, elephant rides, monkey shows or snake charmers. When activist-politician Maneka Gandhi got word of a recent engagement at the Kuwaiti Embassy, she reported the toy shop owner to the police. Ms. Gandhi says, “Under the Wildlife Act, possession of wildlife is an offense and carries a prosecution of five years imprisonment and a fine of US$1,038.” Upon investigation, the police could find no evidence that the toy shop owner had done anything illegal. However, alerted by the complaint, several toy shops in the Khan market who used to arrange for these shows on request from families have stopped doing so.
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