(CNN) – The Chinese government removed pangolin scales from its 2020 list of approved ingredients used in traditional Chinese medicine, a move activists describe as a “critical step” to save the world’s most trafficked mammal.
Pangolins are scale-covered insectivores, about the size of a domestic cat, that are highly valued in Asia for their meat and scales. Last year alone, authorities seized more than 130 tons of pangolin-related products, an estimated number representing up to 400,000 animals, according to conservation group WildAid.
There are eight pangolin species in Asia and Africa. To date, three species are classified as critically endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature: the Chinese pangolin, the Philippine pangolin and the Sunda pangolin, found throughout Southeast Asia. The remaining five species, including the Indian pangolin, are listed as vulnerable or endangered.
Although pangolin scales are made from keratin, the same material found in human nails and rhino horn, traditional Chinese medicine promotes the belief that they improve blood circulation and reduce inflammation.
According to Chinese state media reported on Tuesday, the latest edition of the Chinese Pharmacopoeia, an official government compendium of medicines covering traditional Chinese and Western medicines, no longer includes pangolin scales on the list of approved ingredients, due to “exhaustion of wild resources ”.
“These actions by China will have a real impact, these are critical steps that needed to be taken if real conservation was to happen for these animals,” said David Olson, director of conservation at WWF Hong Kong.
“Most of the demand for pangolin comes from traditional Chinese medicine and consumption. That is what is driving this large-scale illegal trade. ”
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The decision to remove the pangolin from the official list comes just days after the Chinese State Forestry and Pasture Office announced that the Chinese pangolin would become a “world-class protected wild animal,” the highest protection status. possible together with pandas and tigers.
Sophia Zhang, director of the Pangolin Working Group of the China Foundation for the Conservation and Green Development of Biodiversity, said that although she was satisfied with the result, she felt that she arrived “a little late.”
“It has been many years. How many pangolins have already been hunted and killed? ”He said.
Pangolin scales cut into a sack in Singapore in July 2019.
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Devastating impact
The pangolin trade has had a devastating impact on local Asian populations. According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature, pangolin populations in China have declined more than 90% since 1960.
As pangolins in Asia were hunted to their limits, a booming scale trade in pangolin species native to Africa began. Between 2013 and 2019, two African pangolin species, the white-bellied pangolin and the giant pangolin, have seen their populations go from vulnerable to endangered.
Despite the fact that China banned the import of pangolin products in 2018, the trade continued, with large shipments regularly intercepted on its way to the country.
But Steve Blake, Wildaid’s chief representative in Beijing, said there has been a growing public movement within China in recent years pressing for more protection for pangolins.
“The momentum has been building for years … when this news was announced yesterday, it was trending on (Chinese) social networks with more than 150 million visits,” he said.
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‘Don’t wait’
The latest measure to protect pangolins comes in the wake of new research that suggests pangolins kept in wildlife markets in China may have helped incubate the new coronavirus before it spread to humans.
The virus has now infected more than 7 million people worldwide since it was detected last December in the Chinese city of Wuhan, including at least 84,000 cases in mainland China.
According to a team of researchers from Duke University and Los Alamos National Laboratory, the virus repeatedly switched genes with similar strains that infect bats, pangolins and a possible third species before jumping into humans.
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The researchers concluded that, although it was too early to blame pangolins for the pandemic, it was clear that people should reduce their contact with wild animals that can transmit new infections.
After the outbreak, the Chinese government banned the consumption of wild animals across the country in an effort to prevent further deadly outbreaks.
But experts said that for both bans to be effective, they must be properly enforced by authorities and combined with public education campaigns.
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“It would be naive to think it will go away entirely,” said Blake of WildAid. Overall, the trade in wild animals for consumption in China is estimated to be worth more than $ 73 billion, and experts said that banning it can lead to hiding.
“They need better law enforcement and greater public awareness to reduce demand, make sure the public is aware of the risks of consuming these products and the impact on the environment,” he said. “It takes a little time.”
Aron White, a wildlife activist at the Environmental Research Agency, said he was concerned that pangolin scales could continue to be used for traditional medicine through a gap previously used to use controversial ingredients such as leopard bones and bear bile. .
“Pangolin (was) included in two‘ sections ’of the pharmacopoeia, as an ingredient in the first section, and also within the second section that lists formulas for proprietary drugs,” White said.
“I am concerned that pangolin flakes may remain an ingredient in these formulas despite having been removed from the first section.”
White said it would not be clear until the full 2020 Pharmacopoeia is published if the formulas had changed.
Even if they are eliminated entirely, Zhang of the Pangolin Working Group said he was concerned that the damage to pangolin populations in China may be irreversible.
“Not only do pangolins need to be removed from the list, pangolins are already a tragedy and can rarely be seen now, all endangered species must be removed from the drug list,” he said.
“Don’t wait until the animal dies soon before removing it from the list. There will be no going back at that time. ”
CNN’s Shanshan Wang, Eric Cheung, and Steven Jiang contributed to this article.
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