About 900,000 pangolins are
believed to have been trafficked worldwide in the past two decades, a wildlife
watchdog said on Thursday, highlighting the challenge in tackling the illicit
trade.
As the world’s most heavily trafficked mammal, the creatures are targeted for their body parts which are highly valued in traditional medicine in countries including China and Vietnam, and their meat is seen as a delicacy.
Also known as the scaly
anteater, the shy, primarily nocturnal animals have been heavily poached for
years in biodiverse Southeast Asia and are being increasingly targeted in
Africa.
In a new report, watchdog
TRAFFIC estimated about 895,000 pangolins had been smuggled between 2000 and
2019 worldwide.
It also noted that over
96,000 kilograms (210,000 pounds) of the creatures’ scales were seized in
Malaysia, Singapore and Vietnam between 2017 and 2019 alone.
“Not a day goes by without a
wildlife seizure taking place in Southeast Asia, and all too often in volumes
that are jaw dropping,” said Kanitha Krishnasamy, director for TRAFFIC in the
region.
– Rampant trade –
In 2016 the pangolin was
given the highest level of protection by the Convention on International Trade
in Endangered Species (CITES), meaning all trade in the creatures is banned.
Prior to that, trade was allowed under strict conditions.
But protection groups say
the illicit business is still rampant and TRAFFIC called for stronger laws and
penalties, and for authorities to shut down markets and online platforms
selling protected wildlife.
Researchers investigating the origin of the deadly coronavirus outbreak in China have said the endangered animal may be the link that facilitated the spread of the illness to humans.
Scientists have long
suspected that the virus, which has killed more than 2,100 people and infected
74,000, was passed from an animal to a human at a market in the central Chinese
city of Wuhan late last year.
TRAFFIC also said Thursday
about 225,000 kilograms of African elephant ivory, 100,000 pig-nosed turtles
and 45,000 songbirds were seized in Southeast Asia in recent years.