PROJECT PANGOLIN

‘Pangolin Power’ features organizations that are helping pangolins.

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.

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Thanks to a few caring citizens, a pangolin has escaped persecution and poaching – at least for now.

Life is hard for pangolins, as they face daily threats of being poached, losing habitat, or being brutally murdered by angry mobs of humans.

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Another 50 pangolins destined for Chinese black markets have been seized by officials in southern Thailand.

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.

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Meet ‘MJ6′ – a VIP (Very Important Pangolin)!

One of the biggest challenges in pangolin conservation is that we know very little about these secretive, elusive creatures.

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Yet another problem for African pangolins.

Recent pangolin seizures suggest that Africa’s pangolins are increasingly being sourced for the traditional Chinese medicine trade.

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Nepalese villagers report pangolin poaching is rampant and has pushed the animals dangerously close to extinction in a region near a known smuggling route into China.

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.

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Plans to perform a ‘ritual’ on a pangolin were thwarted in Zimbabwe.

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.

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Drugs, pangolin scales, and other wildlife contraband entering China via the nation’s extremely porous border with Nepal.

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. (more…)

Indian security forces arrest two men and seize fourteen kilograms of pangolin scales.

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. (more…)

“Unless we act now to stop the illegal trade, we will eventually find only a dust bowl, emptied of all its forests and animals. ” – Ben Davies.

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.

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