Thanks to the efforts of Rhino Protection Units (RPUs) in Bukit Barisan Selatan National Park, members of a known pangolin trafficking syndicate have been apprehended.
Police in the North Sumatra province say only about 80% of the pangolins were still alive.
Indonesian wildlife authorities have set an excellent example by incinerating a portion of 12.7 tonnes of dead pangolins and scales seized during 2011 and 2012, and burying the remainder.
2011 deals yet another massive blow to the world’s pangolins, with possibly 40,000 – 60,000 slaughtered last year alone.
Updated with new information on 6 August, 2012.
The year 2011 saw a minimum of 58 pangolin seizures reported by media and wildlife trade-monitoring networks, TRAFFIC and Southeast Asian Nations Wildlife Enforcement Network (ASEAN-WEN).
The incidents spanned across more than fourteen different countries in East and Southeast Asia, France, and numerous African nations.
After two wild, high speed chases, authorities have seized a total of 1,174 pangolins – most of them dead – in Vietnam and Sabah, Malaysia since Wednesday.
A wild goose chase on the high seas off Sabah, Malaysia and a high speed car chase in Vietnam over the past week have yielded over 1,000 pangolins destined to be consumed as a delicacy or crushed into ‘medicine’.
‘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.