2100 pangolin scales, leopard skin seized in Haridwar

India A suspected smuggler was caught with a leopard skin, 2,100 pangolin scales and a kg of monitor lizard meat in Haridwar on Thursday in a joint operation by the Rajaji Tiger Reserve and NGO Traffic.

Of the eight pangolin types, two are critically endangered while the rest range from endangered to vulnerable. The Indian pangolin has been listed as endangered. The armoured creature is believed to be the most illegally traded animal in the world with its meat considered a delicacy in China, Vietnam and parts of south-east Asia, while the scales are used in traditional medicine.

The haul of pangolin scales by the joint team on Thursday weighed 13 kg. A forest official on condition of anonymity said that it is likely that 9 to 10 pangolins were killed to obtain the scales.

Rajaji director, Sanatan Sonkar, said, “We received a tip off from Traffic India that a resident of Sapera Basti in Mothorowala was hiding wild animal organs in his house. The accused, Rakesh Kumar, was traced and caught from a forest in Rampur with meat of a monitor lizard in a bag. The leopard skin and pangolin scales were recovered from his house.”

The accused has been arrested under Wildlife Protection Act. In 2016, wildlife wing of the forest department had conducted surprise raids in Sapera Basti and seized body parts of several endangered animals.

The CBI had also seized 70 kg of pangolin scales in October 2016 in New Delhi. Thirty percent of pangolin scales were from Uttarakhand.

Abhishek Singh, Uttarakhand in charge of Traffic India, said, “In Uttarakhand, certain communities have been poaching the endangered pangolin for its meat and scales in forests of Dehradun and Haridwar.”

Talking to TOI, P K Patro, divisional forest officer of Dehradun, said, “Seizures of pangolin meat and scales have been made in areas inhabited by particular communities in Dehradun. They have sometimes injured forest employees during raids. Now we are developing a network of informers to keep a tab on poaching activities.”

(Source: Times of India)