Save endangered Pangolins from illegal poaching
(VOV) - Pangolins, also known as scaly anteaters, a creature native to Vietnam and a few other countries in Asia and Africa, are currently on the brink of extinction, threatened by illegal poaching and wildlife trade.
These shy, unobtrusive nocturnal animals are the most trafficked wild mammal on earth, harvested for their meat and hides— for use as food or in traditional medicines, says the Education for Nature-Vietnam (ENV).
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“Though International trade in pangolins has been banned since 2000, the animals are still being poached,” said ENV director Vu Thi Quyen. “In response, the ENV has launched a campaign to increase protection by raising public awareness of their plight.”
Quyen said the ENV estimates that around 1 million pangolins have been illegally killed over the past 10 years. In October 2015, customs officials in Guangdong province, China, seized 11.5 million tons of frozen pangolin.
“During the last five months of 2015 alone, Vietnam authorities seized more than seven tons of pangolin that had been illegally slaughtered,” she stressed. “The time is ripe to act to protect them before it is too late.”