Pangolin, the world’s most trafficked mammal and why we should protect it
Today, 17th February, is World Pangolin Day and in this article Samantha Nampuntha, a conservationist working with Wildlife, writes passionately why this little creature needs protection of everyone in the country.
Pangolin or Ngaka in Malawian vernacular, is an animal that has raised a storm in the country in the recent years. Information about the animal exploded in Malawi when conservationists began warning the public against taking part in the illegal trade of the animal.
Consequently, many Malawians were surprised. How can such a small animal, and one they had not previously heard of, put anyone in prison for up to 30 years? However, when one learns about the animal and the situation around its illegal trade, they understand why all the eight species of pangolins have been placed under the highest order of protected animal species.
Pangolins are, apparently, only found in Asia and Africa, with each continent having four species each. Temminck’s ground pangolin is the only species found in Southern African, including Malawi. The Department of National Parks and Wildlife has not conducted a population census on the species, but there is strong evidence that it naturally occurs in Malawi.
The pangolin is a mammal that has existed in large numbers for over 60 million years. The animal’s role in the ecosystem is, among others, feeding on insects, thereby keeping the insects’ numbers in check in order to minimize their effects on other animals and humans.
However, it is only in recent years that the Pangolin’s populations have dramatically declined. The main reason being poaching and illegal trade of the animal. In certain Asian countries, the pangolin is seen as a delicacy and their scales used in traditional medicine.
The Chinese pangolin, one of the species found in Asia, was hunted to near extinction in China a few years back. The demand for the animal is high and the four Asian species have been greatly endangered due to this.
Eventually, the situation in Asia led to the growth of poaching and illegal trading of the species in Africa. The Center for Advanced Defense Studies (C4ADS) compiled a report which it shared exclusively with National Geographic, with the latter highlighting that the report found law enforcement seizures of pangolin scales and meat reached an all-time high in 2019. Worldwide, more than 128 tons were intercepted—an increase of more than 200 percent from five years earlier.
Similarly, Malawi saw an increase in the trade in 2020, from seven cases in 2017 to 83 in 2020. Since 2017, there have been 277 arrests related to Pangolin in Malawi, 232 of them with one or more live pangolins found and 10 involving Pangolin scales.
Malawians have actually dubbed the pangolin “Property of Government” and that is for good reasons. One must suffer the dire consequences for being found with just one. For instance, from the arrests made since 2017, 165 of those tried in court have been convicted and 159 sentenced to prison. The highest sentence being 144 months (12 years), but every convicted person runs the risk of facing 30 years.
The level of trading and poaching taking place in Malawi and internationally are the reasons why the pangolin is the world’s most trafficked mammal and why it is placed at the highest level of protection. The biggest fear is that if these uncontrollable levels of poaching and illegal trade continue, the species might not make it to another 10 years.
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