From Our Correspondent
GUWAHATI: Alarming footage captured by World Animal Protection and WildCRU (Wildlife Conservation Research Unit, University of Oxford) revealed the heart-breaking moment when a pangolin was inhumanely killed for its body parts to be sold on the black market in the North East Indian state of Assam, stated a press communique issued by the organisation on Monday.
The footage was captured by an undercover researcher on their mobile phone. Pangolins are often referred to as the world’s most trafficked mammal and the footage demonstrated the cruelty that the animals endure when hunted.
The harrowing clip is part of a two-year study by researchers from World Animal Protection and the University of Oxford, into traditional hunting practices in the state of Assam which borders Bhutan.
Interviews conducted by researchers with over 140 local hunters found that pangolins were largely targeted for their scales that are sold for a premium, with hunters earning the equivalent of four months’ salary for a single pangolin.
The hunters from these communities were clearly unaware of the part they are playing in the international trafficking trade. Yet the illegal traders that then sell the animal products across the borders on the black market go on to make a large profit.
Pangolin scales are used in traditional Asian medicine particularly in China and Vietnam.
Pangolin scales are made of keratin, the same material that makes human fingernails and hair, and they have no proven medicinal value. Pangolin meat is also considered to be a delicacy in some countries and the scales are also used as decorations for rituals and jewellery. They are considered to be at high risk of extinction primarily as a result of poaching.
Reliable estimates of how many pangolins remain in the wild are lacking, although it is thought that over a million individual pangolins were taken from the wild between 2000, and 2013 .
There are eight species of pangolin , all of which are considered threatened with extinction on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species .
World Animal Protection works tirelessly to prevent cruelty to animals around the world.
Although it is well documented that pangolins are being hunted and trafficked, until now, the immense suffering and cruelty that these animals endure when they are hunted has remained relatively overlooked.
Laws in India
Selling pangolins for commercial gain in India is illegal under Schedule I of the Wild Life (Protection)Act 1972.
However, hunting pangolins outside of ‘Reserved Forests’ for personal use is not illegal for certain native tribal communities, such as the Biate, Dimasa and Karbi tribal communities.
Nevertheless, the State government has the power to amend the laws of the Regional Council in any situation where conflict should occur.