Jackie Chan aims a punch at pangolin killers
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E-mail China Daily, September 6, 2017
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Is it too late?
Pangolins represent 70 million years of unique evolution.
These quiet, solitary, nocturnal creatures feed on ants and termites. Their bodies are covered by an armor of large keratin scales, which, according to an old wives' tale, can help new mothers produce breast milk or alleviate asthma. The animal's meat is also often consumed in Asia as a delicacy.
Although research has proved pangolin scales are no different to human fingernails in composition and their meat is considered unsafe because it eludes quality inspections, these animals have been slaughtered to near extinction in Asia and Africa.
Their natural habitats have also been seriously reduced by deforestation.
One pangolin produces a litter of one to three offspring, which are nurtured for about two years. The low breeding rate stands in stark contrast to the enormous quantities seized for international smuggling, and the animal is listed as one of the world's most trafficked mammals by the World Wildlife Fund.
It is estimated that 100,000 pangolins are captured every year in Africa and Asia. As a result, all eight species of pangolin feature on the International Union for the Conservation of Nature's "red list" of animals threatened with extinction. Four Asian species are classified as critically endangered, while four African species are classified as vulnerable.
According to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna, commonly known as CITES, the number of pangolins in China has fallen by 90 percent over the past 21 years. It is estimated the country may have significantly fewer pangolins than giant pandas.
In the past decade, over 1 million pangolins were illegally trafficked worldwide, according to estimates by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature.
Last year, the 17th CITES Congress adopted a proposal that all eight pangolin species be elevated from Appendix II to Appendix I, which effectively bans all international trade of pangolins and their products.
China has placed the animals under the second-highest level of national protection, and they could soon be promoted to the highest level. On Dec 27, customs officials in Shanghai seized 3.1 metric tons of pangolin scales, equivalent to up to 7,000 dead pangolins, while Hong Kong customs officers seized 7.2 tons of suspected pangolin scale products early this year.
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