Officials in Hyderabad, India, have caught the culprits responsible for a trafficking operation involving pangolin scales.
What's happening?
Pangolins are like small anteaters covered in scales. They eat mostly insects such as ants or termites, and they can roll up into a ball for defense. They are the most trafficked animal in the world, according to the WWF. The eight species of pangolin are all under threat, with their status ranging from vulnerable to critically endangered.
As News Meter reported, the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence in Hyderabad, the capital of southern India's Telangana state, confiscated 6.5 kilograms (about 14.3 pounds) of pangolin scales and arrested four individuals involved in the scale trade after a day-long operation.
The scales were taken from five pangolins. According to News Meter, these scales are popular in China and throughout Southeast Asia, where people use them for medicinal purposes.
However, there is a global ban on trading pangolin scales. All eight species of pangolin are included in the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora.
The Indian government has also protected the Indian pangolin through the Wildlife (Protection) Act of 1972.
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Why is animal conservation important?
In many cases, government bans on certain activities are put in place to protect the environment of its inhabitants. For example, illegal mining activities can disrupt the ecosystems around the sites through pollution.
Trafficking animals illegally can disrupt ecosystems by removing key players or introducing invasive species that disrupt the food chain. Invasive species are unknown to typical predators of the region, so they can outcompete other creatures in the area for food and resources with cascading effects.
In the case of the pangolin, the loss of this species can have reverberating impacts on communities. Pangolins play a key role in managing the population of insects, and they also help with soil health as they turn up the earth in search of insects.
Animal conservation efforts are also important to preserving biodiversity. A healthy variety of species is important to avoid the consequences of ecosystems losing key members.
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Yes — everywhere 👏 What's being done about pangolin conservation?
In addition to the legal protections given to pangolins in international trade, there are many nonprofit organizations putting in the work to keep these animals from going extinct.
Save Pangolins is raising awareness of these creatures, training rangers, and running sanctuaries and recovery centers.
The Pangolin Crisis Fund is combating trafficking, educating the public, and planning conservation efforts.
It's important to take action to protect endangered species before it is too late.
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