Pangolin traffickers open up new routes – study
KUALA LUMPUR: Pangolin smugglers are constantly opening up new routes to evade law enforcement agencies, a study the challenge of tackling the trade in the world’s most heavily trafficked mammal.
While at least 20 tons of pangolins and their parts are seized annually after being trafficked across borders, smugglers were using dozens of new routes for the illegal trade every year in a determined effort to stay ahead of authorities, it said.
The scale- covered, ant- eating mammal is prized as an edible delicacy and ingredient in traditional medicine, especially in China and Vietnam as well as across Africa.
International trade in all species of the shy creature was banned at a global wildlife meeting in South Africa last year but activists say there has been little sign of a slowdown in rampant poaching.
The study by wildlife trade University of Adelaide analyzed international seizures from 2010 to 2015—in cases where at least one border was crossed—and found at least 120 tons of whole pangolins, their parts and scales had been
created a year, underlining the highly mobile nature of smuggling networks as global alarm grows that pangolins are being hunted to extinction.
“This paints a grave picture of a phenomenal quantity of pangolins in response to enforcement actions,” said Kanitha Krishnasamy, in Southeast Asia.
“It shows traders are indiscriminate about the new routes they choose and any legitimate means of transport is fair game for them to exploit.”
border pangolin seizures, involv
There are four species of pangolin in Africa and four in Asia, with their classifications ranging from vulnerable to critically endangered.
Whole pangolins were mostly traded within Asia, while China was the most common destination for large shipments of scales, it said.
China made its largest- ever seizure of pangolin parts in July, with nearly 12 tons of scales con city of Shenzhen.
The report said that minor shipments of body parts mainly went to the United States but the quantities were far smaller than those transit hub.
and protection group the International Union for Conservation of Nature, urged all countries involved in the trade to review laws and step up monitoring.