LETTER TO THE EDITOR
TRADE BAN ON PANGOLINS ONLY AS EFFECTIVE AS ITS ENFORCEMENT
The Convention on International Trade in
Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna (CITES)’s recent worldwide ban on
all 8 species of pangolins has brought cheer to the conservation community.
Pangolins face grave threats to their survival
not only from the illegal wildlife trade, but also from habitat loss and a low
reproductive rate. Female pangolins produce only one offspring a year.
Pangolins play an important role in the ecosystem, as their diet consists of
ants and termites, and they thus provide biological pest control. It is
estimated that a single pangolin consumes over 70 million ants and termites a
year, and from this fact, one can imagine the role of pangolins as nature’s
pest controllers and soil caretakers.
Pangolins, including the Sunda / Malayan Pangolin
(Manis javanica) are considered the world’s most trafficked mammal and are at
risk of extinction due to relentless hunting and poaching, especially for the
China and Vietnam markets, where pangolin meat is considered a delicacy and a
status symbol.
Pangolin foetus soup ostensibly improves male
virility, while pangolin scales are ground into powder and used to treat
rheumatism and skin disease, although like rhino horns, the scales are made of
keratin, the same protein that forms human hair and fingernails, and there is
no scientific or medical evidence to support the claim that it has any healing
or beneficial properties.
It is hoped that the CITES trade ban will not
only eradicate legal trade in pangolins but also reduce illegal trade by
influencing consumer behaviour.
However, a trade ban is only as effective as its
enforcement. According to the International Union for the Conservation of
Nature (IUCN), numbers of wild Sunda pangolins have decreased by half in the
last 15 years.
Studies by TRAFFIC, the wildlife trade monitoring
network, reveal that as pangolin populations are depleted in Indochina,
wildlife dealers currently source pangolins from Malaysia and Indonesia. Its
studies also found that the pangolin trade has spread to Sabah and Sarawak due
to the decline in the pangolin population in Peninsular Malaysia.
According to the report by TRAFFIC, interviews
with pangolin hunters in Sabah reveal that the hunters are aware of the illegality
of hunting pangolins, and the critically endangered status of pangolins.
However, the hunters admitted that the lucrative price made it difficult for
them to stop hunting pangolins.
In order for the pangolin trade ban to be
effective, enforcement agencies must treat wildlife trade as a serious
international crime that threatens not only wildlife populations and the
natural environment, but also ultimately human survival. Wildlife law
enforcement agencies and prosecution bodies must cooperate with environmental
organisations and monitoring bodies to eradicate corruption, stop wildlife
trade, incapacitate wildlife trafficking syndicates and mete out the most
severe punishments possible for wildlife offenders.
There are reports that live pangolins confiscated
by enforcement agencies are frequently released in their weakened state without
planning or monitoring, and this jeopardises their chances of survival. Thus
efforts to ensure the survival of pangolins should also encompass the
rehabilitation, management and subsequent release of confiscated pangolins.
The international trade ban and enforcement of
anti-wildlife trafficking laws must necessarily be complemented by public
education and awareness efforts in order to succeed. This is where members of
the public come in.
We can all play a role in phasing out and ending
wildlife trade and preventing the extinction of pangolins. As conscientious and
informed members of society, we must speak out and use our persuasive powers to
influence others to reduce the consumer demand for pangolins and other
wildlife. Even those of us who are not educators or volunteers can speak to
others, including the younger generation, rural and indigenous communities and
senior citizens who believe in the curative powers of wildlife-based
traditional medicine, and educate them not only of the role of pangolins in the
ecosystem, but also of the fact that the entire wildlife-based traditional
medicine industry is a sham designed to enrich a few profiteers and impoverish
the gullible. This is why measures such as captive breeding and farming wildlife
and creating biotech substitutes for wildlife products such as rhino horns and
bear bile are ineffective in ending wildlife crime – because they continue to
reinforce the belief that there are curative properties to pangolin scales,
rhino horn, bear bile and other wildlife products. To end the exploitation of
and illegal trade in wildlife, we must be unequivocal in educating wildlife
consumers that there are no benefits to consuming wildlife parts, and there is
no such thing as legal or sustainable trade in wildlife.
Given the popularity of travel to other East
Asian and Southeast Asian countries, travellers can do their part not only by
not consuming or purchasing pangolin wine, meat, scales or other wildlife products,
but actively speaking up and informing tour operators and fellow travellers
that they refuse to enter any establishment that offers pangolin products,
bushmeat, exotic pets or other wildlife products. Travellers must vote with
their money and their voice by writing in to tour agencies, national wildlife
enforcement agencies, wildlife monitoring bodies and animal welfare and
conservation NGOs operating in the relevant countries to complain about and
report wildlife crimes. It is helpful to take photos as evidence and compile as
much useful information as possible, including locations, dates and other
information that will aid in tracking down and identifying wildlife offenders.
Crimes, including suspected crimes (e.g. a
restaurant offering ‘special meat’ and ‘special dishes’) against pangolins and
other wildlife in Malaysia can be reported to the 24-hour MYCAT Wildlife Crime
Hotline at 019 356 4194 or report@malayantiger.net.
Everyone should participate in efforts and
organisations that create, fund and support initiatives to not merely educate,
but also empower and provide alternative and sustainable livelihoods for rural
and indigenous communities to reduce and eventually eliminate their need for
poaching and hunting. The fact remains that in many parts of the world,
indigenous communities are forced off their ancestral lands and denied the
opportunity for meaningful participation in the natural resource economy, thus
driving them to hunt and poach wildlife for their economic survival. We cannot
effectively protect wildlife and habitats without considering the human factor.
This is where the rest of us come in as consumers, travellers, donors,
sponsors, volunteers, advocates, social media users and supporters.
Protecting endangered species is not the role of
the Department of Wildlife and National Parks (PERHILITAN) or conservation NGOs
and experts alone, and the environmental responsibility of ordinary citizens
and consumers goes beyond merely recycling our bottles and having shorter
showers. Species conservation is our shared duty and responsibility, and
pangolins and other wildlife need us as their defenders and protectors now more
than ever.
WONG EE LYNN
COORDINATOR,GREEN LIVING SPECIAL INTEREST GROUP,
MALAYSIAN NATURE SOCIETY
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