New Delhi, India – Indian officials have floated a controversial plan to introduce apex predators such as crocodiles and venomous snakes into riverine stretches along the Bangladesh border, to act as natural deterrents against undocumented migration and smuggling in places where erecting fencing is difficult. India’s 4,096km-long (2,545-mile) border with Bangladesh runs through some challenging terrain – and New Delhi has found some stretches impossible to fence. In an internal communication dated March 26, India’s Border Security Force (BSF), which patrols international borders with Pakistan and Bangladesh, ordered personnel at its headquarters on the eastern and northeastern fronts to explore “the feasibility of deploying reptiles in vulnerable riverine gaps”. The government’s latest move to fence the border with Bangladesh has alarmed human rights activists and wildlife conservationists alike in India.…