There are no public authoritative statistics on how many pangolins there are in China. "We have established a pangolin working group specifically in the past five years, only about 20 Chinese pangolins and about 20 Malayan pangolins have been observed throughout the country. " Zhou Jinfeng, the Secretary-General of China Biodiversity Conservation and Green Development Foundation (CBCGDF) said.
On June 5, 2020, the National Forestry and Grassland Administration announced that all species of pangolin will be upgraded from second-level national protection to first-level national protection. This indicates that the Chinese pangolins that are naturally distributed in China, as well as the Malayan pangolins and Indian Pangolins that were once distributed in China, will be more strictly protected.
In the past 30 years, pangolins have become one of the most endangered wild animals in the world, and they are also considered to be the largest mammals in the world for illegal smuggling. Over the years, international and domestic environmental protection organizations and animal protection experts have called for continuous improvement of pangolin protection levels.
Why do pangolin protection levels need to be improved? What is the status of protection of pangolins in China? What does the increase in protection level mean?
Interpretation 1: What is the current status of pangolin protection?
- According to incomplete statistics, in 2019 alone, "hundreds of thousands of pangolins were illegally hunted and traded"
Pangolins are the only scale mammals in the world. There are eight species in the world, mainly distributed in tropical and subtropical regions of Africa and Asia. The pangolin feeds on termites and ants. An adult pangolin contains 500 grams of termites in its full stomach, also known as the "forest guard." The pangolins distributed in China are mainly Chinese pangolins.
According to Zhou Jinfeng’s introduction, according to the organization’s incomplete statistics, In 2019 alone, more than 100 tons of pangolin scales were intercepted by the Chinese Customs, and the number that was not intercepted was about five times this number. "This is equivalent to one year, hundreds of thousands of pangolins were illegally hunted in the wild and traded." Zhou Jinfeng said.
The number of pangolins in China has declined sharply in recent years. According to the results of the first national survey of terrestrial wildlife resources released in 2003, the distribution range of Chinese pangolin has been reduced to 11 provinces, and the number has dropped to about 64,000. A 2004 assessment of the pangolin’s endangered situation in China concluded that the number of Chinese pangolins has fallen by 88.88%-94.12% since the 1960s.
In the "List of National Key Protected Wild Animals" released by China in 1988, pangolins are only listed as the national second-level key protected animals. Since 2007, China has strictly prohibited pangolin hunting in the wild. In August 2018, the commercial import of pangolins and their products was completely stopped.
However, the number of pangolins is still declining owing to the continuous disturbance and destruction of habitats and insufficient punishment for illegal transactions and illegal consumption.
There is no public authoritative statistics on how many pangolins still exist in China. "In the past five years or so, we have specially set up a pangolin working group and spent a lot of energy. Only about 20 Chinese pangolins and about 20 Malayan pangolins have been observed in the country." Zhou Jinfeng said.
"Until this time’s adjustment, the ‘National List of Key Wildlife Protection’ has not been updated for more than 30 years, except for one minor adjustment." In Zhou Jinfeng's view, in addition to pangolins, a large number of endangered species also urgently need to be included in the protection list or upgrade the protection level.
Interpretation 2: Why increase the protection level of pangolins?
- Industry sources said that if protection is not strengthened, the extinction of pangolins in mainland China in the wild is just a matter of time, and even eight pangolins in the world will be extinct in a very short time in the future
At the "CSDG Global Youth Leadership Program Forum" held on June 8, 2019, the pangolin rescued volunteer, the "Pangolin Girl" Sophia, on behalf of CBCGDF, announced the functional extinction of the Chinese pangolin in the region of mainland China. This caused a lot of controversy at the time.
The so-called functional extinction refers to the reduction of the population of a certain species of organisms under natural conditions to a state where they cannot sustain reproduction. It can also be said that a species has been extinct macroscopically, but it has not been confirmed that the last individual has died. Some zoologists believe that pangolins are still found and recorded in the wild. To accurately assess whether they are functionally extinct, a comprehensive scientific investigation of potential populations is also required.
Sophia told the report that to announce the functional extinction of Chinese pangolins, in addition to the statistics on the number of Chinese pangolins based on field visits, there are also considerations about whether their genes are still preserved.
"We randomly bought more than a dozen pangolin scales or medicines containing pangolin scales in markets around the country to do genetic testing, and the results proved that none of them contained the genes of Chinese pangolin." Sophia said.
Zhou Jinfeng believes that this announcement actually reminds the public that the pangolin protection situation is already very serious. "If it does not change, the extinction of pangolins in mainland China in the wild is just a matter of time, and even eight pangolins in the world will be extinct in a very short time in the future."
However, it is possible to reach a consensus that the protection level of the pangolin urgently needs to be upgraded.
Wu Shibao, a professor at the School of Life Science of South China Normal University and a member of the IUCN/SSC pangolin expert group, also pointed out that the protection of pangolin species lags behind, the degree of threat is extremely high, and the population number is extremely reduced. Under such objective conditions, it is undoubtedly sufficient to increase the protection level of pangolins.
“Chinese pangolins are natural enemies of termites. A Chinese pangolin can eat 7 million termites and ants each year. As long as there is a Chinese pangolin in a forest of about 350 mu, the termite population can be effectively controlled, to prevent the destruction of forest ecology. However, in the mainland, due to the disappearance of wild populations of Chinese pangolins, their ecological function has been basically lost.” Sophia said.
And lost the important part of the pangolin ecosystem, the ant pest control is solved by spraying pesticides and other chemical means. "The biological chains on the earth are linked one by one, and the breaking of any one is a chain reaction. For example, the extensive use of pesticides will cause pollution to soil, water, etc., and even enter the ocean and go to the polar regions."
In addition, Zhou Jinfeng pointed out that the pangolin species is also very important for the study of human public health risks, such as the study of animal epidemiology. "For many years, pangolins have been considered to carry highly pathogenic viruses, including this time COVID-19, and multiple studies have also pointed the source of the virus to pangolins, why some viruses do not develop in bats, and they can be transmitted to humans when they reach pangolins. This certainly requires scientific research on existing pangolins. "
Original Chinese article:
By / Maggie