WWF-P lauds China’s move to protect pangolins

Recent survey revealed illegal wildlife trade in Pakistan

KARACHI: The World Wide Fund for Nature-Pakistan (WWF-P) has lauded the Chinese government's move to strengthen protections for the world's most trafficked mammal, the Chinese pangolin. The decision comes as the pandemic has brought the risks of consuming such wildlife, often sold in illegal and unregulated markets, into focus.

On Friday, the National Forestry and Grassland Administration in China announced that it was upgrading the protection of native Chinese pangolins from second class to first class, the same protection level as the giant panda.

Several studies suggested that pangolins may have transmitted Covid-19 to humans, but while the species harbours similar coronaviruses, evidence of the pangolin's link to Covid-19 has not been conclusive enough.

According to WWF-P director-general Hammad Naqi Khan, there are eight species of pangolin, with the  Indian pangolin, listed as endangered in the International Union for Conservation of Nature's Red List, indigenous to Pakistan.

Recent WWF-P surveys in Pakistan's major cities revealed the flourishing illegal trade of wild species, including pangolins.

"Illegal capture, killing, habitat degradation and trade of pangolins have been ongoing in Pakistan for a long time because of their scales, which have much demand in the international market," he stated, adding that to protect these endangered species, WWF-P was conducting capacity building sessions for the staff of provincial wildlife departments and was also collecting data about the illegal trade.

As many as 195,000 pangolins were trafficked across the globe in 2019 alone, shared WWF global wildlife practice leader Margaret Kinnaird.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 7^th, 2020.