3 more nabbed for pangolin trade

Pointing to the underground wildlife trade underway in the state, the Maharashtra police and forest officials have nabbed three people, including a home guard personnel, for allegedly trying to sell an endangered pangolin in the Konkan.

Dayanand Gawas, deputy superintendent of police, Sindhudurg said they received a tip-off about a deal being struck for the sale of a live pangolin and nabbed Parshuram Parsekar, a home guard personnel. "We had information that he was being offered Rs 50,000 for the animal, but wanted to strike a bargain for Rs 1 lakh," added Gawas.

Admitting to a huge racket involved in the sale of pangolin body parts to fuel the demand from abroad, he said the scales of the animal were also used by black magic practitioners, pushing up prices. The case has been transferred to the forest department.

Pradeep Kokitkar, range forest officer, Kudal, said Parsekar, a Vengurla resident, had found the animal — a one-and-half year old female — in a ditch and caught it with help from his two friends, Jaiprakash Tirodkar and Santosh Pednekar, who have been arrested by the department.

"An accused admitted that an agent from Mumbai was going to come down for striking a deal with them," said Kokitkar. The department is also looking out for four of the missing accused. "Once they are nabbed, we may be able to establish the link (with any international rackets)," he explained.

The scaly ant-eater is a Schedule-I animal, entitled to the highest degree of protection under the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 — the same as the tiger. But, officials monitoring the wildlife trade admit India is a hotbed for poaching the insectivorous mammal whose body parts have great demand in countries like China and Vietnam for their supposed medicinal value.

This is not the first time that pangolins or their body parts have been seized in the Konkan. In June 2016, the police raided a house in Ratnagiri and recovered 750 gm pangolin scales. In July 2015, a huge stash of 44 kg pangolin scales was found near Chiplun while in February 2016, 12 kg was recovered at Dapoli.

Forest officials admit that rackets with international links may be operational in the region for poaching and smuggling of this contraband.

Though the lack of a population estimate of the pangolin makes it difficult to predict the extent of its poaching, activists say the seizures may be the tip of the iceberg. Wildlife trade monitors say rampant poaching, coupled with slow breeding of the species has created a possibility of it going extinct.

The pangolins are smoked or dug out of its burrows and dipped into boiling water to extract their scales. Poachers often lure locals to hunt the animal, whose meat is considered to be a delicacy and medicine by some communities.

Its scales are used in Oriental medicine for their aphrodisiac and medicinal properties and are also used for making charms.

Hunting or trade in pangolins is a criminal offence leading to imprisonment for between 3 and 7 years and a fine of not less than Rs 10,000.