Wildlife Experts Call For Special Status To Pangolins In Odisha

Bhubaneswar: Considering rising cases of pangolin poaching in Odisha, wildlife experts have demanded that the state government must declare special status to Pangolins and initiate Project Pangolin on the lines of Project Tiger and Project Elephant.

Speaking at a press conference in Bhubaneswar on Friday, Biswajit Mohanty, project director of the Wildlife Protection Society of India (WPSI) said

pangolins are found across all districts of Odisha, yet their population is unknown as they are very elusive creatures. They were earlier hunted for their scales while the meat was eaten by tribals. However, for the last 6 years, the demand for live pangolins has gone up sharply. Poachers employ nomadic tribals like Sabaras, Kolhos, Mankadias, Sauras, Matia Kelas etc., who are expert hunters.

“Due to escalating demand, traders of forest produce and wildlife parts smugglers engage them to catch pangolins and sell them to inter-state smugglers at a high cost. Being as lucrative or more lucrative than ivory or drug trade, of late organised mafia gangs have entered this illegal business which appears comparatively easier for them,” he added.

According to Anil Dhir, until three years ago the Forest department was unaware about threats to pangolins. Forest guards used to ignore the hunting or catching of pangolins, porcupines, turtles, monkeys and birds like Parakeets and Mynas, though they are all protected species. The efforts made to make people aware about the need to protect elephants and tigers are completely missing for pangolins.

“The Forest Department has not made any efforts to gather intelligence on this illegal trade. While the STF-CB of Police has used intelligence to seize and arrest, the Forest Department has continued to depend on chance encounters,” he added.

On June 18, 2018 when notorious wildlife smuggler Shamsuddin Khan was caught by the Department staff, the department had no clue about his past. Thankfully the STF-CB of Police stepped in and arrested six more accomplices including two international smugglers from the Northeast.

“The Forest department is yet to understand the enormity of the pangolin smuggling rackets in Odisha and how its lucrativeness has attracted organised gangs. During 2019-20, Athgarh Forest Division arrested about 30 men, some of them possessing pangolin scales, live pangolins and a dead formalin-soaked pangolin. These acts won awards for the DFO but to date not a single accused has been convicted and the kingpin was never identified,” Dhir said.

A Pangolin Research and Breeding Center was established in 2007 at the Nandan Kanan Zoo with the objective of breeding and augmenting the dwindling wild population but not a single pangolin has been released in the wild. One case failed miserably.

“Of 48 live pangolin seizure cases till now, 24 cases were carried out by the police, primarily by the STF-CB of Police. Of 114 men arrested in 48 cases, 64 were arrested by the Forest Department and 50 by the police but all of them were prime accused. In two cases, the Department could not arrest anyone,” he said.

Mohanty said 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 and 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 state government must declare special status to pangolins and initiate Project Pangolin on the lines of Project Tiger and Project Elephant,” he added.

An exclusive specialist Task Force comprising a crack team of the Forest Department and the Crime Branch of Police needs to be formed to control smuggling of live pangolins and pangolin scales, he concluded.