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Published online 30 July 2008 | Nature 454, 564 (2008) | doi:10.1038/454564e
News in Brief
Bail for entomologists held for illegal insect collection
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Illegal poaching is OK in India, but scientific advancements are not.
Dear Vali Gazula, If Indians have a little dirt on their shoes when entering countries like Australia or NewZealand (I am not disputing the scientific rationale here but how people are treated), they are fined hundreds of dollars, more than a months salary for most. Or how poor Indian vegetarians (I am not one) who take food items are treated under draconian laws. I dont understand how a fried chips will violate biosafety for example. May be a tree full of chips might sprout threatening chip manufacturing industries! Every nation has its laws. Antibiotics like tetracycline and Vancomycin have been discovered by culturing soil samples stolen from India. It is high time India awakens to the potential for stealing flora and fauna including microbes and insects without proper permissions and licensing terms. India is not a banana republic from Africa or Latin america where companies or industries can do whatever they want without regulatory or ethical considerations. Granted there is a level of corruption and institutional failure, there are still laws and institutions. I feel sorry for the scientists for overlooking permissions, but nobody feels sorry for poor Indians who get caught on the wrong side of the laws in the West. If you have any doubt, just recount how the Australians treated a poor Indian doctor for the crime of rushing to see his new born baby only because his cousin was remotely involved in burning himself and his car (alleged terrorist plot) When 2 dozen bombs explode in Indian cities in 24 hours, it does not even get reported in world media! Able
Mr. Lawrence, Your point about biological intellectual property may be a valid one, but your supporting examples are irrelevant. As you well know, laws restricting foreign organic material from entering Australia and New Zealand were put in place for very good reasons. Making exceptions for every bhabi who doesn't check her shoes would leave these ecosystems wide open to more malicious visitors and smugglers. Tetracycline was discovered by an American in soil from Missouri, and vancomycin was first isolated from a soil sample from Borneo, at a time when no one would have thought of taking a pouchful of dirt as theft. It still isn't in most jurisdictions. In this particular instance, we should keep in mind the very real possibility that these entomologists are telling the truth, and never actually entered the park. Not producing baksheesh when a police officer expects it can be very dangerous in India. Finally, as a consumer of the "world media" (not an apologist), I'd like to point out that I was perfectly aware of the bomb blasts in Bangalore and Calcutta hours after they occurred, but have no clue "how the Australians treated a poor Indian doctor".