Chinese pangolin rescued in Assam's Jagiroad, 3 smugglers arrested

Jagiroad: A live Chinese pangolin was rescued by the Special Task Force (STF) of the forest department from Jagiroad in Assam's Morigaon district on Friday and 3 persons were arrested in this regard, reports said.

As per reports, a joint operation was conducted based on intelligence inputs provided by the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB) Guwahati, and the pangolin was found to be in the possession of 3 persons at Jagiroad. The animal was seized from the trio and they were arrested. As per reports, they had attached a price tag of Rs. 2 lakh on the pangolin and were trying to sell it illegally. The arrested persons have been identified as Simran Sultan, Niranjan Mandal, and Dipon Malakar.

The WCCB had been keeping tabs on the 3 suspected smugglers for 3 months. An official informed the media, that during the preliminary inquiry, it has come to light that the arrested persons procured the live pangolin from Baithalangso village at Rs 40,000 and were trying to sell it at Rs 2 lakh.

The Chinese pangolin (Manis pentadactyla) is a pangolin native to the northern Indian subcontinent, northern parts of Southeast Asia, and southern China. It has been listed as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List since 2014, as the wild population is estimated to have declined by more than 80% in three pangolin generations, equal to 21 years.

The Chinese pangolin is the most poached and trafficked animal globally and is hunted because of its scales and meat. In China and Vietnam, pangolin meat is consumed as a luxury wild meat dish and scales are prescribed in traditional medicines to treat skin conditions and improve blood circulation.

Despite efforts to save the endangered animal globally, law enforcement seizures of pangolin scales and meat reached an all-time high in 2019. Worldwide, more than 128 tons were intercepted—an increase of more than 200 percent from five years earlier.

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