Hyderabad: The focus of World Environment Day this year is on illegal trade in wildlife. But the forest departments of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana are seemingly oblivious to the rampant poaching that’s been going on.
Official data says that in 2015-’16, 109 cases were booked in Telangana and 59 in AP under the Wildlife Protection Act. But activists claim the official figures are much lower. A prime example of ignored numbers comes from the smuggling of pangolin scales across Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.
The pangolin is an endangered animal and is protected under the WPA. But its scales are in huge demand in China where they are key ingredients in traditional cures for rheumatism, skin diseases and even the stimulating of milk secretion in lactating women. Pangolins form five per cent of the world’s global wildlife trade as per World Wildlife Crime Report of 2016 by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime.
Santosh Martin, a conservationist from Karnataka who has helped seize pangolin scales, says, “Kingpins of the pangolin trade are based out of Anantapur. They buy scales for Rs 2,000 per kg and transport it to Kolkata and then to China where it sells for Rs 4 lakh per kg.”
An activist from Telangana says, “Flesh of small wild animals like quail, turtle, hare and tortoise is openly available in highway dhabas and villages.”
