pangolin trafficking

pangolin trafficking

According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (Heinrich, Sarah, et al. 2016), pangolins are the most threatened mammals with extinction. There are eight pangolin species, four being in Asia and the other four in Africa. Pangolins are trafficked mostly due to their meat and scales, which are a recipe in many traditional medicines. The medicine cures cancer, rheumatism, and too much crying in children.

Internationally, measures have been adopted to curb pangolin trafficking. The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) issued an international trade ban for all pangolin species. This ban also removes confusion on zero quotas by collectively prohibiting the international sale in pangolins. This also means that in China, confiscation of pangolins is dealt with at a national rather than regional level. The ban also increases penalty trafficking in the countries of China and the Philippines (Zhang, Mingxia, et al. 2017).

China has also adopted regulations to protect the pangolins. In 2007, China banned pangolin hunting and suspended commercial imports of pangolins and their related products. To strengthen the ban of pangolin trade, China amended its laws to ban trading of pangolins over the internet. China usually sends surviving pangolins to rescue centers. Pangolin rescue centers in China include The Jhinua Wildlife Rescue Centre and the Taipei Zoo.  However, rescued pangolins do not live long in captivity. This is because they are better adapted to live in the wild where they live longer as opposed to life as captives. China also rewilds healthy pangolins into natural habitats (Coggins & Chris, 2003). The Guangxi Forestry Department has done these. Too sensitive, its citizens about pangolins and their protection, Wild aid and The Nature Conservancy have used Jackie Chan to send a Public Service Announcement about Penguins.

Vietnam has also embraced conservative measures to the endangered pangolins. Among the actions has been rewilding confiscated trafficked pangolins. In 2018, nearly 200 pangolins were taken back to their natural habitat. This was through the partnership of the United Nations and Highlands Coffee shop of Vietnam through a program called Save Viet Nam wildlife. These two organizations aimed at advocating for pangolin conservation and anti-poaching of this endangered species. These organizations organize workshops for ex-poachers, traders, and local communities to sensitize them on the need for wildlife conservation and law enforcement. Save Vietnam wildlife also engaged government officials, and they came up with an action plan to improve on how well they will prevent illegal trading and poaching. After the implementation of the action plan, a team at Pu Mat National Park destroyed 2,925 animal traps, arrested poachers, and confiscated 17 guns within their first six months of implementation. In 2019, the Vietnam government aimed at improving rescue centers at Cuc Phuong and Pu Mat national parks (Newton, Peter, et al. 2008). There were plans for coming up with innovative methods for monitoring released pangolins. The government, in partnership with other stakeholders, strengthened law enforcement of illegal hunting and trade of the pangolins. The private sector, in collaboration with the government, increased the community’s awareness of the importance of wildlife conservation to avoid extinction of species, including the pangolins (Newton & Peter, 2007).

The United States also takes part in conserving the pangolin. In 2014, the pangolin consortium and pangolin conservation launched a white-bellied tree pangolin rehabilitation program. The pangolin consortium comprises of six American zoos. Since pangolins have increased mortality rate in captivity, the U.S. government, through the pangolin consortium, has done research and boosted survival rates of penguins they keep in captivity. The U.S. government aims at developing successful rescue, rehabilitation, and release strategies for pangolins and securing resources to implement these strategies (Challender, Daniel, Stuart, Harrop & Douglas 2015). To ensure the achievability of these standards, the course of action includes providing food intake by all rescued pangolins under captive care, developing adequate infrastructure for successful care, and rehabilitation of pangolins before they are released. The strategies also ensure rescue, recovery, and release of pangolins are carried out under established protocols, and pangolins are effectively monitored after their publication. To provide relief for pangolins is efficient, capacity for first responders is ensured by conducting first aid and handling training for first responders and developing a hand-rearing module for rescued pangolins.

To ensure pangolin conservation, Singapore adopted a National conservation strategy Action Plan, aimed at scaling up pangolin conservation in Singapore. Sunda pangolin is the pangolin species associated with Singapore. Singapore’s pangolin conservation objectives are five. The first objective is to gather and share information on the Sunda pangolin’s status, ecology, and behavior through ongoing studies and new initiatives. The activities undertaken to achieve this are establishing a tracking protocol for pangolins using GPS tags, researching to identify home range habitat requirements for pangolins and conduct dietary preference studies of pangolins through stomach content analysis and field sampling of prey — the second objective aims at establishing population status, trends, and pangolins viability in Singapore. The activities to ensure this objective is achieved are analyzing population viability across Singapore using genetic tools, analyzing existing pangolin information and gathering further information of cause injury and why pangolins are rescued, consolidating and analyzing sightings and roadkill databases to understand distribution patterns, and combining and analyzing camera trapping data to infer population distribution and estimates. The third objective is geared towards improving knowledge of natural and urban ecology of Sunda pangolins. For its achievability, the actions undertaken are quantifying the impact of habit loss, fragmentation, and roads on pangolin population and movement, formulation of an ecological connectivity map across Singapore to identify potential vital habitats and connectors, researching to understand the impact of linear infrastructure on pangolin population and investigate pangolin use of urban habitat. The fourth objective is aimed at developing an understanding of road ecology in connection to roadkill dynamics. To achieve this, the course of action includes conducting a systematic, unbiased study of pangolin roadkill hotspots, investigating successful pangolin crossing based on rescue and sighting records, and studying the effectiveness of traffic calming measures on vehicle speed. The fifth objective aims to ensure viable populations of pangolins through their protection, restoration, and connectivity with their habitat. To achieve this, actions set out are reducing habitat loss and fragmentation through ongoing monitoring and evaluation of the habitat. Other activities are ensuring that habitats suitable for pangolins exist within urban areas, obtaining a better understanding of pangolin poaching and its drivers in Singapore, and eliminating poaching of pangolins in Singapore. Te plan advocates the development of poaching specific management plan, which addresses legal issues on trafficking pangolins (Nash, Helen C., et al. 2020).

The government and private sectors of Nepal are committed to safeguarding pangolins. The Nepalese government came up with an action plan named Pangolin Conservation Action Plan for Nepal (2018 – 2022). The action plan has the goal of securing pangolin populations against emerging threats in the wild. The program has four objectives aimed at ensuring pangolin conservation. The first objective is to enhance the understanding of conservation status and habitat dynamics of pangolin. The actions taken to achieve this objective are the preparation of standard monitoring protocol for pangolin conservation in Nepal and conducting training on pangolin habitat and population monitoring techniques. Other activities are capacity building to field staff and citizen scientists on pangolin research and monitoring, and engaging of academic institutions on studies on pangolins and their natural residence. The second objective of the plans aimed at preventing trafficking and illegal sale of pangolins. Activities aimed at ensuring this objective have achieved the provision of equipment and logistical support to enable anti-poaching operations, Improvement of wildlife crime investigations process, and improving evidence collection system through capacity building and training. Other activities are conducting awareness campaigns on pangolins, anti-poaching and conservation laws, organize regular transboundary conservation cooperation meetings with neighboring pangolin inhabited countries, and conducting training for staff and community on the use of pangolin monitoring technology. The third objective aims at identifying and managing the natural living for pangolins conservation with activities to make this possible being identifying important pangolin habitats and mapping their priority sites, and provision of support to local government and stakeholders to monitor and manage pangolin habitat. Other activities are to control human and livestock pressure in pangolin habitats and engage communities to restore and manage forests to ensure the sustainability of pangolins. The government also protects the available termite mounds to enable pangolin feed is easily and readily available. The last objective aims at developing local stewardship for the conservation of pangolins through activities to be carried out are assessing local knowledge, traditions, and perceptions on pangolin conservation and developing awareness packages for policymakers, local government, and local communities on pangolin conservation and designing and developing community-based ecotourism and training forest user groups and local communities to implement ecotourism plans. Other activities to ensure stewardship for the preservation of pangolin hare met developing information-sharing mechanism between community-based organizations and local law enforcement agencies, organizing events to convey conservation messages, and creating awareness through different means of audiovisuals, radios, televisions and print media. Lobbying with local authorities to give enough priority for the conservation of pangolins and ensure they have adequate budgetary provisions is also essential to foster stewardship for pangolin conservation. To ensure the objectives are well met, the plan gives a financial outline of how budgetary allocations are to be made (Katuwal, Hem Bahadur, et al. 2013).

In Africa, conservative measures have been put in place to protect the pangolin from extinction. In Africa, local communities kill pangolins because they attack their crops and source for meat. However, in the Democratic Republic of Congo and the Central African Republic, an organization named invisible children has come up with measures to protect pangolins. The organization equipped the residents with a tool known as an early warning radio network to report pangolin-poaching activities. The organization also trained farmers on sustainable agricultural practices like avoiding over-hunting animals and crop rotation (Van Vliet, Nathalie, et al. 2012). These practices were beneficial since a year after they were implemented, pangolin numbers were on the increase.

African wildlife foundation has put in place some solutions to protect pangolins. African wildlife foundation has promoted public awareness of pangolins through creating public campaigns, namely When the buying stops, the killing Can too. Celebrities like Yao Ming, Jackie Chan, and Richard Branson influence these pangolin conservation campaigns to inform the public about the damage being done to pangolins. The attacks also explain on pangolins and their lack of medicinal value in their scales. Africa Wildlife Foundation, through its Canines for a conservation program, has trained and used sniffer dog teams to detect pangolin smuggling at airports, seaports, and other goods entry and exit points. Lastly, African Wildlife Foundation closely works with communities residing near pangolin habitats and provide the communities with tools and rewards to motivate them to practice sustainable agriculture and stop pangolin hunting for food provision (Roe, 2015).

Zimbabwe has the most stringent pangolin conservation measures in Africa. Zimbabwe Parks Wildlife acts vigorously protects pangolins. Possessing or dealing with pangolins attracts a prison sentence of up to 15 years.  In 2015, 84 pangolin poachers were caught, and 47 were sentenced to nine years in prison.  2016 saw the arrest of 114 pangolin traffickers, and 52 were sentenced to nine years in jail (Shepherd, Chris. et al. 2017).

Congo is home to the white-bellied tree pangolin, black-bellied tree pangolin, and the giant ground pangolin. In Congo, pangolins are poached for feeding on their meat and medicinal use. The Congo government, in collaboration with The Zoological Society of London, ran the MENTOR POP program to secure the future of Congo’s pangolins. The program covers the areas of assessments on pangolin populations, trade of pangolins, law enforcement on pangolin trade, and reducing on-demand of pangolin meat and scales (Challender, Daniel, Carly & Jonathan, 2014).