DNA Barcodes To Be Used to Control Illegal Wildlife Trade

DNA barcodes are likely to be used in Pakistan to stop illegal trade of wildlife and prevent smugglers who use false labels to identify endangered species as non-protected species.

According to the Directorate of Biodiversity at the Ministry of Climate Change, DNA barcoding technology based on sequence matching is quite accurate as an advanced scientific tool.

Many consignments of turtles have been confiscated since the issuance of the notification that empowers the Sindh Wildlife Department to protect these species of turtles that are native to the Indus River and are also protected under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).