7 May 2021

Four persons were arrested in Alibag, Raigad district, on Thursday for attempting to illegally traffic protected wildlife. Two live pangolins, one adult female and a cub, were recovered from the accused who have been booked under relevant sections of the Wildlife Protection Act (1972) by the Maharashtra forest department.

Pangolins are protected under Schedule I of the Wildlife Act, putting them in the same bracket as tigers, lions, rhinos and several other species. Smuggling or hunting of pangolins -- which are classified as endangered in the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s red list of threatened species -- attracts the highest penalties as per the law.

Thursday’s arrest was made in Navghar region of the Sudhagad Pali forest reserve in Alibag. Officials said they acted on a tip-off and one of them posed as a customer interested in purchasing pangolins for their scales, which are in high demand in the international wildlife market.

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