World Pangolin Day: Conservationists demand greater protection to stop extinction
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Asian pangolin species are endangered while African pangolin species are vulnerable. [Photo: thepaper.cn]

There are calls by conservationists for pangolin use in medicine to be banned, to help save the animal from extinction.

The call comes on World Pangolin Day, the third Saturday in February, and was made by the China Biodiversity Conservation and Green Development Foundation, reports thepaper.cn.

The Foundation wants the State Council, the highest state administrative body in China, to issue a national plan on the protection of pangolins, which would strictly prohibit selling, eating, or using pangolins for medicinal reasons.

The foundation also suggests that pangolins should become a first class nationally protected animal instead of second class, as it is now.

The consumption of pangolins has caused a public outcry in China recently. Earlier this month, the screenshot of a microblog post about Guangxi officials inviting investors from Hong Kong to eat pangolin at a reception went viral on Sina Weibo. In another case, a young woman was arrested and placed under investigation in Shenzhen after pictures allegedly showing her eating pangolins were discovered online by local officials.

As things stand, medical use of pangolins is still lawful in China, although almost a decade ago, in November, 2007, the Chinese government said such treatment could only take place in stipulated hospitals and clinics.

The State forestry administration issues consumption control measures every year. Figures from 2008 to 2015 show the total consumption control measure was 186 tons, an annual average of 26.6 tons.

In the last ten years, at least 1 million pangolins have been hunted and traded worldwide to be eaten or for medical use, according to the China Biodiversity Conservation and Green Development Foundation. Pangolin scales are believed to have health benefits, and are used to make medicines, while pangolin flesh is considered a delicacy.

According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), in Asia and Africa all eight pangolin species are vulnerable and the numbers are rapidly declining.

Author： 　　　Source：CRI　　　 Editor：Yang Fan