Over 1,000 pangolins poached and trafficked in India in past five years

• Recently the World Pangolin Day was observed on February 18.
• A not-for-profit organisation working on the international trade of animals and plants, has brought out a fact sheet reporting that 1,203 pangolins have been found in illegal wildlife trade in India from 2018 to 2022.

Highlights

• Up to 24 States and one Union Territory saw seizures of pangolins and their derivates.
• Odisha reported the maximum number of incidents, with 154 pangolins in 74 seizures.
• It was followed by Maharashtra with 135 pangolins in 47 seizure incidents.
• The publication, titled ‘India’s Pangolins Buried in Illegal Wildlife Trade’, has tracked 342 total incidents during this time period.

India and Incidents

• The coordinator of TRAFFIC’s India office, said in the organisation’s fact sheet that up to 50% of seizures included live pangolins and 40% involved pangolin scales.
• “India reports a significant number of pangolin trafficking incidents reflected by seizures across the country.
• They are poached mainly for international markets in China and southeast Asia for their scales, which are used as an ingredient in traditional medicines,.

Pangolin In India

• India is home to two species: the Indian Pangolin, found across the subcontinent; and the Chinese Pangolin, found across a larger area in south Asia.
• Bihar, West Bengal, and Assam see the presence of both.
• Both species are included under India’s Schedule I of the Wildlife Protection Act that could result in a jail term for those hunting animals listed here.

Prelims Take Away

• Pangolins and their conservation status
• Indian Pangolin
• Chineses pangolin