TRAFFIC Southeast Asia is one of the world’s most important voices for pangolins. Based in Kuala Lumpur, this regional office of TRAFFIC monitors wildlife trade in Cambodia, Brunei, Timor Leste, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Viet Nam.
Life is hard for pangolins, as they face daily threats of being poached, losing habitat, or being brutally murdered by angry mobs of humans.
Media reports claim Thai authorities have thwarted an attempt to smuggle 50 pangolins into China via Lao People’s Democratic Republic (Lao PDR), a major transit route used by wildlife traffickers.
One of the biggest challenges in pangolin conservation is that we know very little about these secretive, elusive creatures.
Recent pangolin seizures suggest that Africa’s pangolins are increasingly being sourced for the traditional Chinese medicine trade.
Just after Customs officials confirmed that the China-Nepal border is serving as a significant smuggling route for the illegal wildlife trade, new media reports indicate a massive upswing in pangolin poaching in areas of Nepal near the porous Chinese border.
Three Zimbabwean men have been sentenced after they were found in illegal possession of a pangolin, which they apparently intended to use in superstitious rites to improve their mining business.
In a press conference held last Friday, the Lhasa Customs Office confirmed that porous Tibetan borders are being used to smuggle illicit drugs, pangolin scales, and other highly sought after wildlife products into China from other countries. Read more
Last week, the Assam Rifles—an Indian paramilitary force—apprehended two young men and seized from them fourteen kilograms of pangolin scales, two mobile phones, and a bank card, according to online news source, E-Pao. Read more
A must-read for anyone interested in learning more about the illegal wildlife trade: Black Market: Inside the Endangered Species Trade in Asia by Ben Davies is a shocking portrait of the plundering of endangered species destined for Asia’s illegal wildlife markets.