The Most Trafficked Animal

Where we are only taught about conservation of a few animals like tigers, we are never taught about animals facing a far more severe menace than tigers. Among these severely threatened animals are Pangolins. Pangolins, the symbol of hope, are one of the most unique animals of the animal kingdom but unfortunately they are also the most trafficked animals of the animal kingdom.

About Pangolins

These prehistoric looking animals are the only known mammals wholly covered with scales made up of keratin, the same substance which makes up our hair and nails. They are known to be very shy and harmless to human beings. Pangolins are insectivores i.e. they feed upon insects like ants and termites. They use their sticky long tongue which then can extend upto 40 cm to catch their prey.

As a defense mechanism, they curl up like a ball and tuck their heads under their tail. Their sharp scales does not allow the predator to easily penetrate. As an additional defense mechanism they also have a gland near their anus that can emit noxious smelling chemical like the spray of the skunk thus keeping the predators away.

Today, out of the eight species of Pangolins, 3 of them are critically endangered, 3 are endangered and 2 are considered as vulnerable according to the IUCN’s Red List of Threatened Species.

Why Pangolin is the most trafficked animal ?

Pangolins have a great demand in China and Vietnam for their scales and meat. In China it is believed that the Pangolin meat has nutritional value to aid kidney function. Along with the meat, Pangolin scales are also in great demand in China as they are believed to have medicinal properties and are used in the Traditional Chinese Medicines (TCM).

In Vietnam the pangolin meat is sold as a luxury dish which costs as much as 150 dollars per pound. At one restaurant in Ho Chi Minh City, Pangolin is the most expensive item on its menu of exotic wildlife, requiring a deposit and a few hours’ notice. Restaurant employees often kill the animal at the table, in front of diners, to show authenticity and freshness.

The main uses of pangolin scales claimed by the locals are to unblock blood clots, promote blood circulation, and to help lactating women secrete milk. There are many other applications for treating gynaecological diseases, and pills that contain powdered pangolin scales are used for treating blockages of the fallopian tubes to cure infertility. The Pangolin scales can cost more than $3,000/kg in the black market.

In Africa, pangolins are poached for bushmeat and also for a variety of non-medicinal purposes, such as improving finances, improving luck, or protecting against spiritual forces. Some groups in Nigeria believe the flesh of the pangolin can give the consumer the power of divination, or otherwise bring good luck, safety, or calmness.

Inspite of all the claims made by the locals of various countries, there have been no scientifically proven medical value of any of the body parts of the Pangolin. And the scales considered to be having medicinal properties are made up of keratin, the same thing which makes up our nails. With the increasing myths about Pangolins, the avarice of the people is making the hunters to poach Pangolins recklessly. Today the Pangolin trade accounts for as much as 20 percent of all illegal wildlife trade. Between the years 2006 to 2015, 11,22,756 Pangolins were poached.

According to the Wildlife Justice Commission’s analysis of large-scale seizures of illegal pangolin scale shipments, over 81 tonnes of pangolin scales were seized in 2019 which is a marked increase from about 25 tonnes in 2016.

With global trends indicating an increasing number of seizures and only an estimated 50,000 (According to 2018 reports) pangolins still in existence, protection of this species is growing all the more important.

As a measure against the illegal trading of Pangolins CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species), which regulates the international wildlife trade, has placed restrictions on the Pangolin market since 1975 and in 2016, it added all eight Pangolin species to its Appendix I, reserved for the strictest prohibition on animals threatened with extinction.

Its strange that even today many people are oblivious of an animal like Pangolin to exist at all. Now it depends on us, if we want to protect them or to let them wipe off from the face of the planet and have another story to tell our future generations just like the dinosaurs. We need to be more aware of the ills happening to the wildlife around us and educate others about them, they are as much as important for the planet as we are.