MADURAI: Forest officials in Madurai seized 400 pangolin scales from a 37-year-old Narikorava, Bagistan at Karuppayurani here the other day.
The scales were about to be sold off. TRAFFIC, the wildlife crime control wing of the World Wide Fund for Nature – India (WWF-I) field operatives helped the officials to nab the offender. The operatives said the scales were sold between Rs 10,000 and Rs 30,000 depending upon the seller.
Nihar Ranjan, district forest officer, Madurai, said the scales were believed to have medicinal properties that could cure piles and rheumatism. In Tamil Nadu people burn the scales and the ashes from the burnt scales are used as medicines. In China people make rings out of the scales and wear them on their fingers.
Explaining about the cruel method in which the pangolins are killed Nihar said pangolins are a very shy animals. Once they feel threatened, they coil their body into a ball like shape. As they are docile animals, they never attack when they were caught. So the poachers easily trap them and pack them in gunny bags. The live ones are then put in boiling waters and once they are dead, the scales are removed and the flesh is eaten by tribals living across the state, Nihar said.
The forest officials laid a trap a couple of days ago and the arrested person came forward to sell the 400 scales for a price of Rs 25,000. Pangolins are categorised under Schedule I of the Wildlife Protection Act and those indulge in poaching of this species may get three years of imprisonment with a minimum fine of Rs 25,000, he said.
Bagistan has been charged under Wildlife Protection Act, since pangolins are highly endangered animal and are protected under Schedule 1 of the Act. He has been produced before the judicial magistrate two in Madurai and remanded in judicial custody.
TRAFFIC field operatives said there is a great demand for the scales in China and other Southeast Asian nations. There the scales, said to have medicinal properties are used in the Chinese traditional medicine and the flesh is a delicacy, they said. “There are also superstitious beliefs and the highly endangered animal was killed based on a myth. We are also investigating the country medicine practitioners (Nattuvaidyars), who placed a demand for these animals,” Ranjan said.
The Nattuvaidyars cheat public by claiming the smoke from pangolin scales help in relieving piles, thereby creating an illegal trade for these wildlife items, a few forest officials said.
