Jackie Chan aims a punch at pangolin killers
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E-mail China Daily, September 6, 2017
One of the world's oldest species of mammal is facing the threat of extinction, but just one small word might save it - "No."
That's the message from movie star Jackie Chan in the latest Wild-Aid campaign video designed to stop people eating or buying pangolin products.
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Jackie Chan fronts WildAid campaign to keep an endangered species off the menu. [Photo/China Daily] |
Coming hot on the heels of similar campaigns against the consumption of shark fin, bear bile or tiger bones fueled by antiquated superstitions, the action hero appeared across China last month to raise awareness on the need to protect this endangered species.
In the video, he tries to teach a group of pangolins some martial arts moves, only to find that the toothless, timid animals only know how to curl up into a ball, making themselves vulnerable to poachers.
"The pangolins cannot defend themselves. It is up to us to take action to save them," Chan says.
The video was jointly produced by WildAid, the Nature Conservancy and the China Wildlife Protection Association, and is being broadcast at home and abroad via the China News Network.
Chan says in the video he hopes more people, especially children, will learn about these helpless animals and join the mission to save them.
"When I was a young boy, I practiced kung fu and got injured often," he says. "I was told then that using medicine made of tiger bones would cure me. Only when I grew up did I realize that it was all a lie.
"We should teach our children not to eat, use or buy pangolin products from an early age. Hopefully, future generations will have the chance to coexist with pangolins."
The action star, who is a wildlife protection ambassador, later told Xinhua News Agency that his next movie will focus on fighting wildlife trafficking, and he will almost certainly include pangolin protection in the story.
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