Instagram – Nov 24, 2020 @ 13:38
Pangolins have been in the news rather a lot this year, thanks to their supposed ‘involvement’ in the outbreak of COVID-19. But despite some positive news in June with China removing pangolin scales from a list of approved ingredients in traditional medicine, it seems demand for them has not fallen and they are still subject to tremendous trafficking from all over Africa.
What can we do? Spread the word and create awareness of their plight; the more people and organisations that know, the higher the chance we have to save this beautiful animal.
Posted @withregram • @africanparksnetwork Pangolins are the most trafficked wild mammals in the world. Of the eight species of pangolin, four occur within Africa and four in Asia. But due to the insatiable demand for their scales for traditional medicine, all eight are threatened with extinction according to @pangolinsg. The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is one of the few countries in Africa where all four species occur. Unfortunately, in recent years traffickers in north-eastern DRC have been generating local demand for pangolin scales by shipping them abroad illegally, threatening pangolin populations living in and around protected areas. @garamba_national_park conducts investigations in order to intercept such trafficking. Since August, three separate seizures of 135kg, 56kg, and 20kg have taken place with arrests of those involved. The intent is not only to stop the trafficking, but to deter the poaching of pangolins in the first place, making the entire chain riskier and less profitable. Simultaneously, Garamba is an important boon to the local economy in north-eastern DRC, providing hundreds of jobs to local communities that provide an alternative to illegal natural resource extraction. @naftali_honig #garamba #pangolin #drc #illegalwildlifetrade