Pakistan struggles to save pangolins from poachers despite the efforts of local conservationists, as demand from China for scales, meat and traditional medicine has made the endangered pangolin the world's most trafficked animal.
The Indian pangolin in Pakistan is on the verge of extinction. "Poachers in Pakistan are mercilessly killing pangolins after the influx of Chinese investors into Pakistan as part of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project," Riaz Hussain, a pangolin conservationist in Pakistan, was quoted in a report published by DW.
The Indian pangolin is currently the world's most-trafficked animal, according to the World Wildlife Fund (WWF). The pangolins are hunted for their scales and meat, and China is the largest market and much of the demand is met by poachers in Pakistan.
In an effort to control the illegal trade, WWF-Pakistan in 2017 started a project "Saving the Pangolins of Pakistan" in provinces where the pangolin population has been hit the most – an 80 per cent decrease between 2013 and 2018.
According to a WWF conservationist, pangolin dealers are found in major cities and many locals poach pangolins for cash payments.
A man from a small village told DW that he once witnessed people killing a pangolin, and said he wished that he had known that its scales were so valuable. "If I was aware of its high price on the market, I definitely would have sold the animal parts, instead of letting it waste and decay."
Illegal poaching in Pakistan is the primary driver of the illegal pangolin trade, with the animal parts reaching China via middlemen operating in the southern port of Karachi.
Pangolin scales are used in traditional Chinese medicine, and its meat is also considered to be a delicacy. As the trade operates in a black market, there are no figures available on how many tons of pangolin scales are smuggled to China each year.
Chinese conservationists say that the pangolin is almost extinct in China, and that fuels demand for illegal imports.
The international trade in the four species of Asian pangolins has been banned since 2000, and this was expanded in 2017 to all eight species worldwide.
According to the China Biodiversity Conservation and Green Development Foundation (CBCGDF), there are more than 200 pharmaceutical firms in China manufacturing some 60 brands of traditional medicines by using pangolin scales.
Every year, Chinese officials authorise pharmaceutical firms to use 29 tons of pangolin scales, which amounts to roughly 73,000 individual pangolins.
The CBCGDF has sent teams to southern China's provinces to investigate black market trade and were surprised to see that many restaurants were serving pangolin meat.
In 2017, Chinese customs officials seized a record 13 tons of illegally imported pangolin scales. Last year, Hong Kong officials confiscated 7.8 tons of pangolin scales in a single shipment heading to China.
Over the past two years, the WWF has set up six pangolin protection zones watched over by security guards and wildlife observers to prevent poaching.
Although Pakistan has listed the pangolin as a protected animal under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, conservationists say that there is a lack of coordination among various agencies when it comes to stopping poachers.
The Indian pangolin in Pakistan is on the verge of extinction. "Poachers in Pakistan are mercilessly killing pangolins after the influx of Chinese investors into Pakistan as part of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project," Riaz Hussain, a pangolin conservationist in Pakistan, was quoted in a report published by DW.
The Indian pangolin is currently the world's most-trafficked animal, according to the World Wildlife Fund (WWF). The pangolins are hunted for their scales and meat, and China is the largest market and much of the demand is met by poachers in Pakistan.
In an effort to control the illegal trade, WWF-Pakistan in 2017 started a project "Saving the Pangolins of Pakistan" in provinces where the pangolin population has been hit the most – an 80 per cent decrease between 2013 and 2018.
According to a WWF conservationist, pangolin dealers are found in major cities and many locals poach pangolins for cash payments.
A man from a small village told DW that he once witnessed people killing a pangolin, and said he wished that he had known that its scales were so valuable. "If I was aware of its high price on the market, I definitely would have sold the animal parts, instead of letting it waste and decay."
Illegal poaching in Pakistan is the primary driver of the illegal pangolin trade, with the animal parts reaching China via middlemen operating in the southern port of Karachi.
Pangolin scales are used in traditional Chinese medicine, and its meat is also considered to be a delicacy. As the trade operates in a black market, there are no figures available on how many tons of pangolin scales are smuggled to China each year.
Chinese conservationists say that the pangolin is almost extinct in China, and that fuels demand for illegal imports.
The international trade in the four species of Asian pangolins has been banned since 2000, and this was expanded in 2017 to all eight species worldwide.
According to the China Biodiversity Conservation and Green Development Foundation (CBCGDF), there are more than 200 pharmaceutical firms in China manufacturing some 60 brands of traditional medicines by using pangolin scales.
Every year, Chinese officials authorise pharmaceutical firms to use 29 tons of pangolin scales, which amounts to roughly 73,000 individual pangolins.
The CBCGDF has sent teams to southern China's provinces to investigate black market trade and were surprised to see that many restaurants were serving pangolin meat.
In 2017, Chinese customs officials seized a record 13 tons of illegally imported pangolin scales. Last year, Hong Kong officials confiscated 7.8 tons of pangolin scales in a single shipment heading to China.
Over the past two years, the WWF has set up six pangolin protection zones watched over by security guards and wildlife observers to prevent poaching.
Although Pakistan has listed the pangolin as a protected animal under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, conservationists say that there is a lack of coordination among various agencies when it comes to stopping poachers.