World’s most trafficked animal seized at border
Troubling new report shows New Zealand is not exempt from the illegal trade in wildlife products. Andrea Vance reports.
BORDER officials seized more than 150 products made from pangolin – the scaly creature suspected to be a carrier of the coronavirus Covid-19 – over the course of two years.
The pandemic has put the spotlight on the illegal trade of wild animals, after the infection was suspected to have spilled over from pangolin into bats and then humans.
Now, a new report reveals New Zealand is not exempt from the global black market, which experts estimate is worth as much as $35.8 billion each year.
Fiona Gordon, an environmental policy analyst and Jane Goodall Institute New Zealand ambassador, obtained figures from the Department of Conservation which show pangolin scales, primate skulls, elephant ivory and tiger bone were all confiscated at Kiwi airports in 2017 and 2018.
The data shows there were 12 incidents at the border where 152 items consisting of pangolin body parts were seized. Most came from China.
This ‘‘gruesome shopping list’’ included sachets of whole and powdered scales, bags of raw ingredients, tea bags and soup, a medicine ball, packets of tablets and pills, and a necklace containing a claw.
Pangolin scales are made of keratin, the same substance that forms fingernails, hair and horn. It has no proven medicinal value but is used in traditional
Chinese medicine to boost fertility. The meat is also prized as a delicacy.
Earlier this month, local media reported the Chinese Government had removed pangolin from a list of approved ingredients in traditional medicine. It follows scientific research which found pangolin may have transmitted the coronavirus from bats to humans as an intermediary.
Gordon said wild animals naturally carry harmful bacteria, parasites, fungi and viruses.
‘‘Humankind has now poked so many holes in nature’s firewalls that coronaviruses can now just walk right on through,’’ her report says. ‘‘From the destruction of forests to our relentless encroachment into pristine habitats – in our failure to conserve the natural world, we have failed ourselves as well.’’
She points to a failure in international attempts to halt wildlife crime. Despite pangolin having the highest level of protection under the Convention on International Trade in
Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (Cites), its trade is at an all-time high, she says. Experts say it is the most heavily trafficked wild mammal in the world.
Gordon also found 65 per cent of the seizure records are for corals and shells, 11 per cent for meat – typically crocodile and alligator, but also including minke whale, dolphin, bear, turtle and python.
Medicines made up 7 per cent of the seizure records, more than half of which are for an endangered flowering thistle. Others were made from the body parts of saiga antelope, musk deer, leopard, tiger, bears, primates, turtles, pangolin and snakes. Other products included leather, elephant ivory and feet, and the skulls, teeth and claws of leopard, bears, and lynx.
18,564 incidents of seizure or surrender of Cites-listed wildlife were recorded, representing many thousands of items. Around 69,000 were made from wildlife considered threatened with extinction.
Almost two-thirds (64 per cent) of the seizures were from New Zealand citizens, and 32 per cent associated with visitors.
‘‘It’s a demand that’s driving this trade and what this data tells me is that New Zealand is part of that problem,’’ Gordon
said. ‘‘If we really want to get to the heart of the problem we have to get rid of the demand and stop these items even getting on the plane.
‘‘The key thing we can do is build a profile of who these people are and why. Once we know that we can start looking at who we need to target to inform, and to start saying these are the reasons perhaps you should consider not purchasing these items in the first place.’’
The Government is reviewing the 31-year-old Trade in Endangered Species Act, with Department of Conservation recommendations due to go to Cabinet this year. Progress was slowed by Covid-19.
The domestic sale of elephant ivory items is not regulated in New Zealand. Ministers were weighing up a ban with some exemptions for antiques and musical instruments, or a register of ivory sellers.
Conservation Minister Eugenie Sage said she wanted the act to be efficient and effective.
‘‘The illegal trade of wildlife and enlarged species like elephant ivory is of key concern and something that this Government is actively addressing... I’m expecting to announce final decisions on this in the coming months.’’