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As many as 1,203 pangolins, the most trafficked wild mammal in the world, were poached for illegal wildlife trade in India from 2018-2022, a new report showed.
Pangolins, their scales and derivatives were recovered in 342 seizure incidents across 24 states and one Union territory of India, according to the analysis by TRAFFIC, a global wildlife conservation non-profit, and World Wide Fund for Nature-India. These included 1,025 individuals (199 live) and 885 kilogram of their derivatives.
Half of the seizure incidents involved live pangolins and 40 per cent included scales of the animal, which is also called the ‘scaly anteater’, according to the analysts.
The highest number of seizure incidents (74) and pangolins (154) seized were in Odisha, they noted.
During the observed period, there were eight incidents, where the seized pangolins and their derivatives were being traded online, according to the analysts. “Online trade of species is a serious concern, owing to the difficulty in monitoring cyberspaces and tracing the illicit trade and those involved in it.”
Pangolins are nocturnal, toothless mammals that dig burrows and feed on ants and termites. Of the two species found in India, the Indian Pangolin (Manis crassicaudata) is recognised as ‘Endangered’ and the Chinese Pangolin (Manis pentadactyla) as ‘Critically Endangered’ in the International Union for Conservation of Nature List of Threatened Species.
In India, they are protected by the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 that prohibits its hunting, trade or any other form of utilisation.
The commercial trade of pangolins was also banned by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora in 2017.
They play a vital role in the ecosystem management, mostly in aerating and adding moisture to the soil as well as succession of plant communities through burrowing. They also keep in check the population of certain insects they prey on.
“The burrows made by pangolins also get utilised as shelters by other species within their ecosystem. Over 30 species have been reported to use the burrows made by Chinese Pangolin, including mammals, birds, reptiles and invertebrates, for different purposes,” the analysts wrote in the report.
Despite their ecosystem services, they are traded for their demand across the world, mostly in Asia, where their scales are considered to be medicinal and their meat a delicacy.
In the nine years preceding the current analysis period, from 2009-2017, 6,000 pangolins were trafficked in India. But, according to the analysts, these are conservative estimates because of improper seizure reports and gaps in official data.
The reported seizure incidents in most cases had no clear species identification; hence all seizures were attributed to Indian Pangolin for the analysis, the analysts wrote.
For determining the number of pangolins seized in the illegal wildlife trade, the conversion was based on the assumption (based on a scientific model) that all scales originated from adult pangolins of the Indian Pangolin species (1 kg = one adult Indian Pangolin), they added. “The actual figure may be higher as some of the seizures could be related to Chinese Pangolins, for which the average weight of scales per animal is less than that of the Indian Pangolin or the seizures can also contain juvenile or sub-adult pangolins of either species.”
The demand of pangolins in countries where the animal and their byproducts are consumed need to be curtailed, the authors of the report suggested. Enforcement actions should be strengthened in India and internationally to deter trade and protect the mammals, they added.