Nearly 900,000 pangolins, an endangered animal, have been sold illegally worldwide over the past twenty years. "Not a day goes by without seeing a seizure of wild animals," according to the management of the NGO Traffic.
The NGO estimated around 895,000 pangolins sold illegally between 2000 and 2019 worldwide. Some 96,000 kg of scales were thus confiscated between 2017 and 2019, in Malaysia, Singapore and Vietnam.
#Pangolins The elusive animal in the spotlight amid the coronavirus crisis: in-depth @washingtonpost op ed on by @amyyeewrites TRAFFIC quoted https://t.co/n5CESkBKMb
- TRAFFIC (@TRAFFIC_WLTrade) February 20, 2020Some 225,000 kg of African elephant ivory, 100,000 pig-nosed turtles and 45,000 birds have also been seized in Southeast Asia in recent years.
Pangolin, a source of coronavirus?
The small mammal is the most poached in the world. Its scales with alleged virtues are used in traditional Asian medicine and its flesh is appreciated by gourmets. The shy ant-eating animal, which curls up in front of predators, has been poached extensively in Southeast Asia and is now increasingly hunted in Africa.
In 2016, the International Convention on Trade in Endangered Species (Cites) strictly prohibited its trade. However, trafficking continues and the NGO has called for tougher sanctions against traffickers.
According to Chinese researchers, the pangolin may have transmitted the new coronavirus to humans. Other scientists call for caution while awaiting final confirmation.
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