Pangolins in the News

China: Hong Kong Authorities Hunt for Pangolin Smuggling Suspects

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Hong Kong police and customs officers in an anti-smuggling operation confiscated HK$1.45 million worth of pangolin, an endangered species and a Chinese delicacy, into the city on Monday. The law enforcement agencies mounted a joint operation to combat smuggling activities in Sai Kung and Tseung Kwan O at about 2.30pm Monday, amid the rising number of smugglers at sea. Officers took enforcement action after spotting six people loading goods onto a speedboat at Che Keng […]

African White-Bellied Tree Pangolin

GOOD NEWS: Pangolin DNA Database is Being Developed to Combat Smuggling

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This week at the IUCN conference it was announced that the Center for Conservation Biology, at the University of Washington in Seattle, was awarded a grant as part of the USAID Wildlife Crime Tech Challenge. One of 4 grand prize winners. Sam Wasser, Ph.D., and graduate student Hyeon Jong Kim will develop non-invasive genetic tests. Which will allow field researchers to identify what populations and regions poached pangolins originated from. These tests can be instrumental to […]

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

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Pangolin Conservation – 16,093 lbs (7,300 kg) of pangolin scales from Nigeria were seized today in Hong Kong (an autonomous territory of China), according to customs officials. The valuable of the pangolin scales was reported as $1,805,182 US dollars (14 million Hong Kong Dollars). They were found on a cargo shipped in the Kwai Chung Customhouse Cargo Examination Compound and declared as “660 bags of recycled plastic particles”. Customs officials found that 259 bags contained pangolin scales of […]

Forensics Expertise Brought to Train Scientists on Pangolin DNA to Help ID Smuggled Products

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Pretoria, South Africa 4th July 2016—Scientists from Malaysia, Thailand, VietNam, Indonesia, South Korea, Australia and the United Kingdom as well as the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) law enforcement attaché for Southern Africa, last week visited the National Zoological Gardens of South Africa (NZG) to learn about the wildlife DNA casework being undertaken to help crack cases with international ramifications. The need for international forensics collaboration was highlighted by the seizure the previous […]

Good News! Pangolin Rescued After Wild Dash Across Busy Traffic Junction – Singapore

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The following is a personal account by Woon Tien Wei of his encounter with a critically endangered pangolin – nicknamed ‘Mr. Pangolin’ – who had to be rescued after running into a busy traffic junction along Ang Mo Kio on 2 July 2016.  It was about 1.10pm on a lazy Saturday afternoon. With my wife, we were sending my sister-in-law and niece back home. There was a sudden commotion when we spotted a critically endangered Sunda Pangolin– commonly […]

Good News! Report on Pangolin Poaching Jolts State into Action – India

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Taking a serious note of the rising number of pangolin poaching cases, the state government has decided to launch a crackdown on poachers and traffickers. DNA had reported on Saturday how the illegal wildlife trade is thriving in the state. A huge collection of pangolin scales was also seized in Ratnagiri district recently. In July 2015, a huge stash of 44kg pangolin scales was recovered near Chiplun, and in February this year, 12kg scales were recovered […]

Good News! Villagers Involved in Pangolin Conservation – Nepal

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Community forest users in Neelkantha Municipality of Dhading have launched an initiative to conserve endangered pangolins. Many villagers did not know that pangolin population was dying out until recently, said Bhakta Bahadur Shrestha, district chairman of Federation of Community Forestry Users Nepal. “More people are aware of that fact these days. And they have made a point of saving the pangolin population,” he added. According to a recent study conducted by the World Wildlife Fund, […]

Pangolin Trafficking on the Rise While the Government is in Slumber – India

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Last week, when Ratnagiri police raided a house in the town located on the Konkan coast following a tip-off about an illegal gun being kept there, they stumbled upon a stash of pangolin scales. The seizure is the latest revelation of illegal wildlife trade in body parts of the insectivorous mammal, which is in demand for its supposed therapeutic value in Oriental medicine. Activists and forest officials claim that these seizures — three in Ratnagiri […]

Taking Pangolins Off the Menu – Bloomberg

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The latest poster mammal in the struggle against environmental crimes is something called a pangolin. Cute and scaly, it is no match for the criminal gangs that have made it one of the most trafficked animals for bogus medicines and gourmet meals. A recent report from the United Nations and Interpol highlights the sophistication of this new breed of criminals, and the difficulty and necessity of fighting them. Their interlinked networks connect local resources to global markets in surprising […]

Nigerian Customs Arrest Two Attempting To Smuggle Pangolin Scales & Ivory

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Lagos, Nigeria – The Nigerian Customs Service has intercepted 678 pieces of elephant tusks and 381kg of pangolin being smuggled out of the country by some Chinese citizens at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Lagos. The airport Customs command said it arrested two Chinese nationals over the attempt to smuggle out the prohibited items. According to the Customs, the attempt by the Chinese nationals contravenes Schedule 6 of the Nigerian Exports Prohibition List, which prescribes […]