the southeast Asian pangolin trade

this disgusting video surfaced a week ago, of a ranger at Kruger kicking a pangolin twice to make it roll up for photos. The person on the safari can be heard protesting and the ranger says something like "no it won't die, it is so you can take the picture".

On the SANParks Kruger Facebook page a statement was made:

https://www.facebook.com/South.African.National.Parks/

Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8yzWtDJM9FQ

 

a seizure in July in Hong Kong of pangolin parts smuggled from Nigeria. The scales weighed 7,300kg - that is not a typo.

LARGEST Known Seizure of Pangolin Scales, It’s Devastating! – Pangolin Conservation

 

the scales make up about 20% of the pangolin's live-weight. So I guess someone clever could work out the original weight of the pangolins when alive. But obviously the African pangolins are quite different in size from one another, so you'd have to average it in some way to allow for there probably being a mix of species.

 

rough estimate (anyone feel free to correct my maths, as will probably be necessary!).

If 7,300kg of scales is 20% of the live-weight, then that makes 36,500kg of live pangolins.

If we say 2kg for white-bellied pangolins, that would be about 18,250 pangolins.

If we say 20kg for giant pangolins, that would be 1,825 pangolins.

So somewhere between those two numbers.

 

Sabah looking at making pangolins a completely protected species

29 August 2017

The Sabah Wildlife Department is looking at upgrading the status of Pangolin to a completely protected species.

The department is in the midst of preparing a paper on the matter to upgrade the status of the mammalian from Schedule 2 to Schedule 2 of the Wildlife Conservation Enactment 1997.


State Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Seri Masidi Manjun said he had ordered the department which falls under his ministry, to undertake the matter as soon as possible.


“They have always been planning to do this but now enough is enough. While it is impossible for a complete stop of pangolin or wildlife trade, but what is important is that we sends a strong message to all citizens on the need for all of us to work together in protecting them,” he said.


Masidi said this when asked about the recent case of an attempt to smuggle in RM103 million worth of pangolin scales weighing 8,000 kilogrammes via Sepanggar Port here.


In Sabah, Schedule 2 of the Enactment permits the hunting of the listed animals with a permit.


Masidi hoped that the stronger legislation via the status upgrading will help cut off illegal wildlife trade.


On the scales confiscated on July 29, Sabah Customs Department believes the scales were sourced from some 16,000 pangolins.


Asked whether the state government is pursuing to verify where they came from, Masidi said it is up to the Wildlife Department but there is obviously ‘a need to do so’.


State Tourism, Culture and Environment deputy ministerDatuk Pang Yuk Ming had previously stated that Sabah was likely to be a transshipment point in this case, as there was ‘no way a pangolin population of that size can come from Sabah’.


Customs director-general Datuk T. Subromaniam at a function here yesterday, said investigations involving the 43-year-old suspect in the pangolin scales case are almost complete and he is expected to be charged in court soon.