The Chinese Pharmacopeia Commission in China last week has removed Pangolin, considered as the world’s most trafficked mammal, from its list of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), and the Palawan Council for Sustainable Development (PCSD) said that though it will ease a little bit of pressure for Palawan’s Pangolin, intensive wildlife protection and conservation should still be pursued since this will not stop illegal wildlife trade in Palawan.
Jovic Fabello, spokesperson of the PCSDS said that removal of pangolin from TCM of China will not happen overnight or at least in paper only.
“Removal from TCM list will only ease a little bit of pressure for Palawans Pangolin but still we need to protect its remaining population and habitat in Palawan. Local Chinese population in parts of the archipelago also consumes Pangolin, not to mention the locals (Visayan mostly) and the Indigenous peoples (IPs) consume pangolin by means of rituals and delicacy,” Fabello said.
He explained that consumption of pangolin is part of the Chinese culture and it is difficult to remove it from their tradition. He said that aside from China, other Asian countries like Vietnam, Singapore and Malaysia with large Chinese population also consume pangolin.
In Palawan, he said, the removal of the pangolin from the TCM will not stop illegal wildlife trade since poachers and traders may only shift to other wildlife species.
“Removal of Pangolin in TCM list will not stop the illegal wildlife trade in Palawan and poachers/traders will only shift their poaching activity from one high value wildlife into another. Illegal wildlife poaching in Palawan is continuous despite of the efforts being taken by the PCSD. it might be lessened during these times of COVID19 pandemic but intelligence gather says a respite for poaching is nonetheless existing,” Fabello explained.
The new edition of Chinese Pharmacopeia 2020 has removed the use of pangolin scales and other parts used for preparing TCM, thus raised the animal’s protection level. The published Chinese Pharmacopeia aims to remove the use of animals whose population is depleting at an alarming rate, said the commission. Large scale illegal hunting has driven all the eight species of pangolins to the brink of extinction.
Massive demand for its scales and meat in Southeast Asian countries has made pangolins the world’s most trafficked mammal, leading to a substantial decline in its numbers in recent years.
With the granting of Class, I protection level to pangolin species, anyone caught hunting, killing, smuggling, or trading the animal would be sentenced to imprisonment of up to 10 years.
The Philippine pangolin or Palawan pangolin (Manis culionensis), also locally known as balintong, is a pangolin species endemic to the Palawan province. It has been classified by as Endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
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