WORLD PANGOLIN DAY- 18 FEBRUARY
WHY IN NEWS ?
- A not-for-profit organisation working on the international trade of animals and plants has brought out a fact sheet highlighting several issues on pangolins condition.
FINDINGS OF THE FACTSHEET & OTHER FACTS
- Around 1,203 pangolins have been found in illegal wildlife trade in India from 2018 to 2022.
- Up to 24 States and one Union Territory saw seizures of pangolins and their derivates.
- Odisha reported the maximum number of incidents, with 154 pangolins in 74 seizures.
- The publication, titled ‘India’s Pangolins Buried in Illegal Wildlife Trade’, has tracked 342 total incidents during this time period.
INDIA AND PANGOLIN POACHING
- India is home to two species:
- The Indian Pangolin, found across the sub continent
- The Chinese Pangolin, found across a larger area in south Asia.
- Bihar, West Bengal, and Assam see the presence of both.
- Both species are included under India’s Schedule I of the Wildlife Protection Act.
- India reports a significant number of pangolin trafficking incidents reflected by seizures across the country.
- They are poached mainly for international markets in China and southeast Asia for their scales, which are used as an ingredient in traditional medicines.
- An analysis of illegal pangolin trade in India by TRAFFIC in 2018 reported poaching of 6,000 pangolins between 2009 and 2017.
SYLLABUS: PRELIMS, SPECIES IN NEWS
