Wildlife Trafficking Gang Jailed Over Haul of Pangolin Scales Worth $17.6 Million
The huge amount of scales smuggled by the gang is estimated to have killed around 50,000 pangolins, who are one of the most endangered animals in the world.
A gang of wildlife traffickers have been jailed over their involvement in one of the world’s biggest hauls of pangolin scales.
Pangolins are known as the world’s most trafficked animal, and many species of the mammal are listed as ‘threatened’ or ‘critically endangered’. As well as deforestation destroying their natural habitats, pangolins are heavily hunted and poached for their scales which are used in Chinese traditional medicine.
Now, criminals involved in one of the biggest pangolin scale hauls of recent years have been sentenced by a court in eastern China.
The gang were finally caught after being intercepted with nearly 11 tonnes of smuggled pangolin scales back in 2019. The haul was estimated to be worth 114 million yuan ($17.6 million) and is thought to have been responsible for the slaughter of over 50,000 pangolins, reports the South China Morning Post.
Following the court's verdict, the two leaders of the operation were each sentenced to over 13 years in jail, as well as a fine of 4 million yuan ($618,000). Another fifteen accomplices were also dealt jail terms, ranging from 15 months to 12 years.
The ruling is likely to send a strong message of how China is stepping up its protections for pangolins. Last year, the Chinese government announced a momentous ban on pangolin scales, by removing them from a list of approved ingredients for use in traditional medicine. The delisting came shortly after the Chinese State Forestry and Grassland Administration (SFGA) announced pangolins are a national level one protected species in China.
Commenting on China’s steps to protect pangolins, Steve Blake, the chief China representative for WildAid explained to Mongabay that,
“it is a very significant step in curbing the pangolin trade. It’s a very similar situation to what happened in 1993 when tiger bone and rhino horn were removed, recognizing that the use of these products in the practice is not sustainable with such rapidly depleting populations, and that there are many viable alternatives available.”
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