ISLAMABAD: Wildlife conservationists on Saturday confiscated a critically endangered pangolin that was being sold on the internet for Rs300,000.

The staff of Islamabad Wildlife Management Board (IWMB) impersonated as Chinese buyers tricked the seller to make a deal. The pangolin, which is a critically endangered animal the world over and highly demanded for its scales and meat, was being sold on a website famous for sale and purchase of all kinds of items.

“Pangolin was the most trafficked animal in the world last year from India, Iran and Pakistan for black markets in the Far East and China. Its scales are used for making bulletproof vests and pangolin meat is equally in high demand,” said IWMB Chairman Dr Anisur Rehman.

He said the animal was released into its natural habitat and its details were kept secret to ensure its survivability. A chalan will be registered against the individual for dealing in the trade of endangered animals on Monday.

Under the Islamabad Wildlife (Protection, Preservation, Conservation and Management) Ordinance 1979 and according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) it is an offence to sell and keep pangolins as pets.

The Islamabad Wildlife Ordinance 1979 treats the whole of Islamabad a wildlife sanctuary.Similarly, the Punjab Wildlife Department registered 11 cases of illegal trade in endangered and threatened species and fined those involved in it Rs130,000 in a single day.

In an operation across Rawalpindi, District Wildlife Officer Rizwana Aziz and her team fined individuals for illegally possessing seven partridges, two brown-roofed turtles and two Indian narrow-headed softshell turtles.

Moreover, an unclaimed consignment of 300 sparrows (baya weaver) was taken into custody from the Pirwadhai bus stand. The sparrows had been brought for sale from Faisalabad. The birds were released in the Loi Bher forest and the turtles into their natural habitat.

Published in Dawn, August 30th, 2020