Many countries import animals that are not available in their country, or whose number has decreased. These range from lions and leopards to elephants and donkeys. At the same time, there is also an animal that is being trafficked the most. Animal-loving organizations say that this mammal named Pangolin will soon disappear like a dodo bird.
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Pangolin is the most trafficked animal in the world.
About two years ago, a report by the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) created a stir. The agency accused several online sites of smuggling a wild animal named Pangolin. He said that many websites selling medicines are selling products made from pangolin’s body. In fact, more than 2 companies have licenses that claim to sell medicines and cosmetics made from pangolin scales.
Many organizations working on animals and the environment, including the agency, feared that pangolins would soon come under the category of dodo birds. These were the birds whose meat was so smuggled that they became extinct, citing the twenty benefits of meat.
Pangolins
are insect-eating mammals that have been on Earth for about 80 million years. That is, in a way, they are in the queue of the longest lasting mammals. These creatures found in the dense forests of Africa and Asia are very special. They look like reptiles, due to the long scales on their body. Their tongue is 40 cm long, so that they can eat ants, termites and small insects. A single pangolin eats about 70 million insects every year.
There are some 8 species of pangolins, out of which five species are believed to be extinct in the next few years. The other three are feared to disappear much sooner. These are all species that are used in traditional Chinese medicine in some way or the other. That is, China is at the forefront of smuggling and killing this animal.
Pgolins have been on Earth for about 80 million years.
Let us tell you here that there is a lot of emphasis on Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) in China. This is a thousands-year-old method there, in which the energy present in the body is claimed to cure diseases by curing it. In ancient China, it was believed that as soon as the energy of the body goes awry, some disease occurs. TCM focuses on this mess, which has many ways. Herbal medicine is also a big part of it. Under this, not only herbs, but also animal meat or oil are consumed. Pangolin is also part of it.
The dried scales of pangolins in TCM are preserved in vinegar and then fed to lactating mothers or patients. It was also advised to eat in brain diseases. According to a report in July 2020 in the National Library of Medicine, the online resource center of the National Center for Biotechnology Information, the scale of the pangolin, that is, the shell above the body, is very important in China. This is Chinese medicine, which gives strength to new mothers and helps in lactation. Apart from this, pangolin was also considered to increase sperm count.
Since the 1960s,
more than 90 percent of pangolins have been lost in China’s forests. Since then, forests in Vietnam and Africa are being explored so that medicine can be prepared. It is available at huge prices in the international black market. For example, if you talk about Indian pangolin, its one kilo scale costs one lakh and the entire pangolin is available for 10 to 15 lakh. The price of Chinese and Philippine pangolins becomes even higher. Along with being rare, its price is increasing.
In 2019, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) put the animal on the red list. This is the list in which rapidly extinct animals and birds are kept. Under pressure from the IUCN, China also took a big decision. A year later, he declared pangolins a nationally protected animal. It was also removed from the list of traditional Chinese medicine, but it cannot be said that the use has stopped completely.
It is believed that by the year 2030, apart from the Pangolins of China and Sudan, the Pangolins of the Philippines will also be eliminated. After this, the rest of the species will come.
