The Economic Times , Saturday, February 20, 2016

Correspondent : PTI

NEW DELHI: On the eve of World Pangolin Day, a wildlife body on Friday highlighted the extreme impact caused by poaching and illegal trade of the species and stressed the need for coordinated action to save the pangolins from getting extinct. TRAFFIC India, a division of WWF¬India released a poster "Scaly future for the Indian Pangolin" portraying how the scope of survival of the species in India is in "question" due to poaching. "Reports in the past have indicated that the poaching and trade in pangolins is blatant mainly owing to little awareness about this mammal among the enforcement agencies as well as general public. It is evident that hundreds of Pangolins from across India are caught every year from the wild and are smuggled through porous international borders to other countries. "With virtually no information available on their population status, the current level of illegal utilisation could have a severe detrimental impact on the future of the Pangolins in the wild," said Shekhar Kumar Niraj, head, TRAFFIC India. Pangolins, often called scaly anteaters, are toothless and have large keratin scales covering their skin and are the only known mammal with this adaptation. Of the eight species found worldwide (four each in Asia and Africa), two are known from India — Indian pangolin (Manis crassicaudata) and Chinese pangolin (Manis pentadactyla). The wildlife body said that in India, pangolins, are netted, trapped, shot or snared for local trade while they are are also captured to meet the demand from international markets in Far East and Southeast Asia. Pangolin meat is considered a delicacy among several communities in India as well as a "tonic food" because of its alleged medicinal properties. "A coordinated approach among Indian enforcement and international agencies, an improved intelligence networking and thorough investigative procedure could be extensively helpful in containing the situation," said Tilotama Varma, additional director of Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB). The poster has been jointly produced by TRAFFIC, WWF¬India and the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB) with the purpose of generating awareness about Pangolins. Noting that hunting or trade in Pangolins in India is a criminal offence and can lead to imprisonment between 3¬7 years, the body said that international trade is also prohibited under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).

SOURCE : http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/environment/flora-fauna/pangolins-face-extinction-in-india-wildlife-body-warns/articleshow/51059422.cms?prtpage=1