Indus Valley Times

2 persons held for illegal wildlife trade, expert demands special status to pangolins

By Mahendra Darjee

Bhubaneswar May 18: The Special Task Force (STF) of Odisha forest department on Wednesday busted a racket involved in illegal wildlife trade by arresting two criminals from Sonepur.

Two live pangolins were rescued from the possession of the culprits.

 The accused were identified as Bedabyasa Dharua (41) and Nabadeep Dharua (29) of Jhankarpali village under Lachhipur police limits.

The Indian pangolin (Maniscrassicaudata), also called thick-tailed pangolin, is a solitary, shy, slow-moving, nocturnal mammal. It is a schedule-I protected animal under Wild Life Protection Act, 1972. Schedule I provides absolute protection – offences under these are prescribed for the highest penalties, STF officials said.

Both Nabadeep and Bedabyasa Dharua were arrested based on a specific intelligence input. During the raid, two live Pangolins weighing 7 kg and 3 kg, respectively along with other incriminating materials were recovered from their possession.

Both the accused have been handed over to Sonepur forest officials for necessary legal action at their end. The live Pangolins were handed over to divisional forest officer (DFO) Sonepur for safe custody, the STF officials added.

According to Dr Biswajit Mohanty, secretary of Wildlife Society of Odisha, the state is facing an unprecedented level of poaching and trade in endangered pangolins that may lead to extinction of the wild population. Enforcement has been weak and haphazard so far leading to a jump in the illicit trade of the creature.

“Pangolins deserve equal status of protection as the Royal Bengal Tiger and elephant. Massive awareness campaigns need to be initiated to make people aware about the need to protect the pangolins, their role in the conservation of forests. In all vulnerable areas, tribal hunters and gatherers must be periodically checked and camps surveyed to ensure that they do not indulge in poaching. The Government of Odisha must declare special status to pangolins and initiate Project Pangolin on the lines of Project Tiger and Project Elephant,” observed Dr Mohanty.