The flesh and scales of this protected species, highly prized in Asia, make it a sought-after prey for poachers.
The Convention on Trade in Endangered Species in 2016 banned international trade in pangolins, some specimens of which are on the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species. ). However, nearly 900,000 of these small mammals were sold illegally around the world between 2000 and 2019, indicates the NGO Traffic, which monitors illegal animal sales circuits.
China and Vietnam are in high demand for pangolin scales, as they are reputed to act on arthritis, ulcers, tumors and menstrual pain – virtues that have never been scientifically established. Although in 2020, Beijing banned the trade and consumption of wild animals and removed pangolin ingredients from the official list of its pharmacopoeia, Chinese customs still seized two tons of scales in July 2022. The month Next, Hong Kong, a hub for the international trade in endangered animal species, has turned wildlife trafficking into an organized crime.
If for ten years Asia has ceased to be the main source of pangolin supply due to the decline in its numbers, Africa and mainly Nigeria, Cameroon, Guinea and Liberia have become top suppliers, according to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. According to the United States Agency for International Development, between 650,000 and 8.5 million pangolins were uprooted from their environment between 2009 and 2020 across West Africa.
In Liberia, defenders for the preservation of this species are mobilizing to save it, because it remains a source of income for the poorest and a popular dish in West Africa.
Ten photos of John Wessels illustrate this point according to an AFP report