Malaysia torches 2.8 tonnes of African pangolin scales
PORT DICKSON: Malaysia torched nearly three tonnes of seized scales of endangered pangolins worth RM37.4mil in a bid to deter illegal wildlife trafficking from Africa.
The country is battling to clamp down on rife trafficking through its borders of the anteating mammals, whose scales are highly valued in traditional Chinese medicine.
“Such a huge seizure and torching of it is definitely a blow to smuggling syndicates,” Perhilitan director-general Datuk Abdul Kadir Abu Hashim said.
Some 3,000 pangolins would have been killed to obtain the 2.8 tonnes (2,800 kilograms) of scales, Abdul Kadir estimated.
The scales were confiscated by customs officials in Port Klang between May and September 2017.
The animal parts arrived in three different shipments from Ghana and Cameroon, and had false local addresses, officials said.
The scales were incinerated at a private waste disposal plant in Port Dickson.
Seized pangolin scales are usually meant for foreign markets like China and Vietnam, where raw pangolin scales are sold for large profits in traditional Chinese medicine.
Last year Malaysia torched eight tonnes of pangolin scales, Abdul Kadir said, adding that wild pangolins in Malaysia have become a rare sight due to rampant hunting and deforestation. –