In what is being called the largest seizure of its kind in a shipment worldwide, 14,000 tons of scales from an estimated 36,000 pangolins were discovered in Singapore last week.
Custom officials stated they inspected a 40-foot container on its way from Singapore to Nigeria. They not only found an estimated 37.8 million dollars worth of pangolin scales but also 180 kilograms (around 400 pounds) of cut-up and carved elephant ivory.
“If we don’t stop the illegal wildlife trade, pangolins face the risk of going extinct,” said Paul Thomson, an official with the Pangolin Specialist Group, an organization belonging to the International Union for Conservation of Nature, in a statement to the New York Times.
The pangolin is considered to be one of the most trafficked animals in the world. Their bodies are boiled to remove their scales. Their meat, falsely believed to contain healing properties, is used in traditional Chinese medicine.
In 2016, 186 countries party to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wildlife Fauna and Flora agreed to ban the trade of all eight species of pangolin. At the time, the largest seizure of these animals ever discovered was just five tons.
In 2018, shocking footage from World Animal Protection and Oxford University’s Wildlife Conservation Research Unit went viral, revealing the barbaric nature of the pangolin trade. In the video, a poor animal is smoked out of their hiding place, viciously beaten in the head with a machete, and thrown, possibly still alive, into boiling water to remove the scales.
The trade isn’t showing signs of slowing down, despite additional protections. In February this year, 30 tons of pangolin meat was seized in Malaysia and, in the same month, a nine-ton shipment of pangolin scales and a thousand elephant tusks were intercepted in Hong Kong.
Pangolin trafficking is horrifying and devastating. It’s reported this poor animal will likely go extinct before people on a large scale realize they exist.
We must raise awareness for this magnificent creature of nature, pass stronger protections, and enforce them to the fullest extent of the law if we hope to bring pangolins back from the brink of extinction.
What’s New…
This horrific crime MUST stop! Extremely severe punishment must be meted out to these criminals!
The starting pasragraph on the pangolin story riased my eyebrows somewhat. I doubt there’s a shipping container in the world capable of holding 14000 tons of anything. Probably an honest mistake but, if not, exaggeration is not helpful.
The scales are very small..it may not be a mistake.
CHINA, CHINA, CHINA, yet again this most gut-wrenchingly depraved, vile, cruel, brutal, sadistic, barbaric, psychotic race of ‘people’ is mentioned. Why oh why do these POS really believe all the BS about their medicines, made up of every species on this planet, can cure all their ailments, all their diseases AND make the ‘men’ more virile….do we really need or want more of these murdering, smirking psychopaths running around??? These masses have degenerated into truly heartless, gutless, soul-less morons who are totally without compassion, empathy, integrity, decency, feelings, emotions and they have NO MORAL ETHICS WHATSOEVER.
This is a huge problem that has no simple answer. Some humans are so corrupt they will do anything for money and our wildlife has to suffer the consequences.
Save Pangolin ! Please !
This is abuse on a ridiculous scale.Dreasful cruelty and yet another example of money displacing life on a huge and indifferent scale. Stop the abuse of this inoffensive animal.
Thoae far eastern countries are some of the worst when it comes to cruelty. From damn Chinese medicine to dog and cat meat. I was going to teach english in South Korea but I had second thoughts because I would be jailed there for assault and battery sticking up for animal rights.
Leave the pangolin and other animals alone. Ban trafficking pangolins and other animals.
Stop this terrible cruelty.
Stop the cruelty
Why we the Chinese so cruel? Why don’t they care about anything g but themselves and doingbharm and curuelty to others has no meaning to them. Whether the Pangolins, elephants, or Weiner Muslims etc
I’m glad this shipment was seized…I’m sorry that those poor animals died……….
please stop this cruelty in a few short years a lot of these species will be extinct, then what will they eat, each other.
maybe!
China is the root of all evil…animal abuse, human rights abuse, bs land claim abuse (South China Sea stolen and artificial islands), theft of intellectual property, the list goes on..
Their leader is on the same level of evil as Hitler and Stalin and Mao. The US needs to assert far more authority in the SE Asia region, or els3 China will screw us all.
Give these idiots the max fine & as much jail time as possible. Unbelievable.
Horrific Treatment of Defenseless Animals!
Is there any animal that doesn’t have some supposed use in Chinese medicine?
With the amount of animals killed for this superstition I would have thought the Chinese would be the healthiest nation on the planet!!
There is no explanation in the article to say why Nigeria has an interest in these poor creatures.
Possibly because China has infiltrated large parts of Africa and have been killing their animals for use in their ancient medicinal BS. I believe these Neanderthals would eat people, if they thought it would make certain parts of their bodies large or they can obtain great wealth. No animal appears to be safe from their evil clutches and possibly their beloved Panda bears would become their next delicacy or used for some hoax medicine.
Jackie Chan, a celebrity ambassador for WildAid, raised awareness for this shy, nocturnal mammal when he made a public service announcement a couple of years ago on behalf of the horrible trafficking of pangolins. He’s a good guy…I heard he’s a vegetarian (I hope he is).
China, please come out of the dark ages. Please educate your gullible people.
Is there ANYTHING that the Chinese won’t eat besides each other? Tell them that Chinese human flesh is an aphrodisiac and/or a cure for everything and they will eat each other. Not a bad idea, let’s promote it!
I’m on board with you on this one DJ. I’m totally dumbfounded just how cruel the Chinese are when it comes to animals than again they don’t treat themselves or others that well either.
From Nigeria to Singapore, not the reverse. Can you get someone who can read and write to write these articles?
14 tons, not “14,000 tons.”
The death penalty should be a mandatory sentence for anyone involved in the capture, killing and transportation of these creatures.
I’m shocked to hear that there isn’t more international coverage on this? Human Society International? There should be more to prevent this and there should be sanctuaries where we can place some in protection to help them boost their populations before they expire. Horrible that there is so much corruption in those areas that they simply allow these acts of cruelty to continue against so many animals.
The Pangolin trade is heartbreaking and so senseless. I hope the laws continue to be strengthened, and poachers prosecuted., these gentle animals do not deserve this cruelty
Its odd no Singapore government officials have offered cooperation to seek & destroy. the greedy ones. So our family is requesting action be taken to stop the culling of this creature for ancient medical therories
Barbaric country with its appalling record of animal cruelty.
The Chinese government are just as cruel to their own people. They would cannibalize their own people if they believed it would improve their sex drive, or cure them of some disease.
Monstrous, these gentle animals need saving not murdering them
This is an industry which must be stopped. I did not know about this huge plundering of these fascinating creatures.
I am totally against this type of exploitation.
Show me the healing properties. If this was true the whole world would know and believe it. Old fashioned ideas, we are now 2019 not the 1800’s.
How can a culture (Chinese) that came up with acupuncture be so astoundingly & woefully ignorant about animal parts as aphrodisiacs & cures for whatever stupid thing they have ascribed to it? The poaching of all of these beautiful animals who deserve to just plain live out their lives in peace, is utterly heartbreaking.
People at all steps of the process of trapping and selling pangolin (or any illegal wildlife) parts need to be treated to severe enough punishments that they serve as a deterrent to this heinous, evil activity.
“The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated. I hold that the more helpless a creature the more entitled it is to protection by man from the cruelty of humankind.”
Mahatma Gandhi
What is wrong with the Chinese? If they believe that hair and fingernails will cure you why don’t they use their own?
How can we stop this, I want to help please 🙁
Pangolins’ scales, elephant’s tusks, rhinos’ horns- is there anything these people consider sacred? Just teeth and finger nails- they eat anything- fear and agony has no meaning-humanity is not in their language- how can hair and nails cure anything? Why are these atrocities allowed to go on?
Mankind is evil!
Total anger..disgust. .heartbreak. .
Why oh why are humans so stupid and cruel? ??
We are the ones that should be facing extinction. Maybe then the earth could heal x
You’re spot on there Anne, there are far far too many humans on this planet and we need a global disease to spread around the planet wiping out, very quickly, billions of us. Unfortunately it would probably take the decent ones and leave the evil, low-life trash to survive.
STOP THE CORRUPTION. PUNISH THE CULPRITS SEVERELY.
One has to wonder at what point in homo sapien history did Chinese DNA denigrate to such a mutated form to allow for such barbaric thinking. Granted there are many exceptions, good people there, however by and large what a vile congregation of vermin.
Good on Trump for raping them financially via tarriffs.
The article says they are boiled & you can bet the farm they’re boiled alive.
These people are mass murderers and should be executed. This is a crime against Nature.
This is horrifying. The injury is only made worse, if indeed it can be, by the knowledge that what these cruel, heartless killers are “harvesting” is based on false premise and is, in actuality, harming the environment. I hope that this can be stopped; that this hideous act can be eradicated and that these animals can live out their lives without being snatched up and tortured for something that has no benefit for anyone, but those who make money for their evil business.
How shameful. Try to get those responsible and punish them most severely
What is wrong with these depraved people?
These abusers MUST be abused and given the severest punishment!!! SO barbaric!!
This horrific abuse MUST stop! Those who do this are SO barbaric! There must be stricter laws and severe punishment for these abusers!!!!