Historic turning point in China where pangolin flakes were removed from the official list approved for use in traditional Chinese medicine
He is about to end up run over, his mother saves himThey are the busiest mammals in the world but their fate may soon change. Historic turning point in China where pangolin flakes were finally removed from the official approved list for use in traditional Chinese medicine.
A choice that has long been requested by animal welfare associations. Each year, around 200.000 scaly pangolins or anteaters are killed in Asia for their scales and meat. According to WildAid, such solitary, nocturnal animals are sadly at risk: their scales are used in traditional Chinese medicine to treat a range of ailments, from arthritis to cancer. They are exploited for the same reasons in Africa as well.
Unfortunately, despite the protection initiatives, their situation has worsened. In early 2017, all eight pangolin species were granted full protection from cross-border trade under international law. But the illegal trade continued and in 2019 the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) said the status of 3 of the 8 pangolin species had worsened in its Red List of Threatened Species update: two pangolin species have been moved from "Vulnerable" to "Endangered" category while the Philippine pangolin was moved from "Endangered" to "Critically Endangered". And the Chinese pangolin is functionally extinct.
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The Chinese government has announced that it has moved pangolins from protection class II to class I, i.e. the highest level, offering the three species (Chinese, Sunda and Indian) the same protection as the Giant Panda, with a 10-year prison sentence. for those caught hunting, killing or smuggling them,
This was determined by the country's State Forestry and Grassland Administration (SFGA) on June 5. The government also announced plans to help these populations by stepping up field patrols and habitat restoration efforts.
“China has moved very quickly to close the live wildlife markets and it is great news that they have now given their pangolins the same protective status as the panda. We hope this will accelerate the end of legal sales of pangolin scales as soon as possible, ”said Peter Knights, CEO of WildAid.
"Upgrading the protection level of pangolins is an urgent situation and a general trend," said Dr. Sun Quanhui, Senior Scientific Adviser of the Chinese Office of the World Association for the Protection of Animals.
But that is not all. In the wake of the decision to increase its protection, China has introduced another news which could create a real watershed: remove the flakes from the pharmacopoeia of traditional Chinese medicine.
"I am very hopeful," said Zhou Jinfeng, secretary general of the China Biodiversity Conservation and Green Development Foundation (CBCGDF), which has been pushing for the protection of pangolins and to stop the use of their scales for years. "Our continuous efforts for years have not been in vain."
In addition to the pangolin, other species have been removed from the list and are: Aristolochia, Tianxianteng and Huanglian Yangga.
Pangolins have been in the spotlight since the beginning of the Covid-19 epidemic, due to studies linking them with the transmission of the virus to humans. Activists hope the move will help end the global scaly anteater trade.
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From pangolins to dogs
In China, the month of June is bringing great news on the animal protection front. Recently, the Ministry of Agriculture updated the National Catalog of Livestock and Poultry by eliminating cats and dogs from the list of edible animals, classifying them as pets instead. A step forward in contrasting the consumption of dog meat. Unfortunately to date, even if there are only a few days left, the Yulin Festival still seems to be confirmed.
In China, dogs and cats have been officially eliminated from the list of edible animals a few days before the Yulin Festival
Three decisions in just over a week that, hopefully, could help protect some animal species that are currently at risk. Although smuggling remains the main source of trafficking in this animal as well as others.
Sources of reference: WIldAid, China Health Times, The Guardian
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