Sindh wildlife dept seizes 34 injured spiny-tailed lizards

A melee was witnessed outside the Sindh Wildlife Department (SWD) office after officials confiscated at least 34 injured spiny-tailed lizards - famous, reportedly, for relieving joint and muscle pain, remedying sexual dysfunction and increasing the libido - and took away their capturer during a raid.

The raid was carried out on the basis of a tip-off at a Sunday Bazaar in New Karachi under the supervision of Inspector Muhammad Naeem and resulted in the arrest of Muhammad Sabir, who was allegedly illegally selling oil extracted from the lizards.

As the officials stormed the place, Sabir, taken aback, argued that the trade of the lizards' oil was common across Pakistan.

"[But] it is illegal to keep and kill wild animals," Naeem retorted.

Refusing to give in easily, Sabir replied, "But I have been associated with the trade since childhood."

Sabir's obstinacy and arguments, however, did little to move the officials, who confiscated the lizards and the oil at the stall and took away Sabir, along with one of his friends, to the SWD office.

According to SWD officials, the backbones of all the lizards were broken and it would take them at least two weeks of proper treatment to be able to move again.

During interrogation, Sabir told the SWD that he had brought the lizards from Khanewal, Punjab. He told them that his entire family was involved in the business for years, complaining, "Our past three generations have been doing the business and no officials ever told us it was illegal."

Following the raid, over a dozen women and his family members reached the SWD office, protesting his detention and terming the raid an "illegal act against poor [gypsies]."

The SWD, however, went ahead with imposing a fine of Rs20,000 on him , Naeem told The Express Tribune. "They [Sabir's family and others] have also been warned of strict action in case they continue the trade."

An illegal trade

As per SWD officials, the main hub of the illegal oil trade is based in Punjab.

Besides, SWD conservator Javed Ahmed Mahar said the trade was common across Sindh, being especially popular during annual Urs celebrations.

According to Ilahi Bux Soomro, an elderly Saddar resident, stalls selling the oil of spiny-tailed lizards were a common sight in the area. "In fact, Saddar was the centre of the trade [in the city] a few years ago," he claimed.

Further elaborating on the business' mode, a senior SWD official said, "People even post videos of the extraction of oil from lizards on social media and ask buyers to contact them."

'Myth' of a remedy

Despite being an illegal act, the trade of the lizards' oil - known as 'sanday ka tel' in local vernacular continues to flourish because of its reportedly wondrous medicinal qualities.

However, those living in urban cities are not convinced.

"I don't know if the oil really works, but it is always in high demand among men," said Soomro, laughing. Sharing that some of his friends also used the oil, he joked, "I believe the oil contains a secret element."

On a serious note, though, he added that only a doctor would be able to confirm whether it had remedial qualities associated with it.

Similarly, Haji Adam, having seen several people buying the oil at 53 years, said, "The oil's appeal lies in its [rumoured] remedy for sexual dysfunction. This is why most people use it, but I have no idea whether it really works."

When contacted, Pakistan Medical Association's Karachi chapter general secretary Dr Abdul Ghafoor Shoro categorically denied the oil being such a remedy and even went on to term it "quackery."

"It is injurious to health and can cause skin diseases, even skin cancer," he warned. "Some diseases caused by such substances may not even be curable."

Along the same lines, Mahar, too, said, "The oil has no such remedial [qualities]. It is just a myth that is taken advantage of by people like Sabir to run their business."

Besides, Dr Shoro stressed the need for government institutions to keep a check over the illegal trade of the oil and raising awareness on such issues.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 25^th, 2020.