Pangolin smugglers are constantly opening up new routes to evade law enforcement agencies, a study published yesterday by wildlife trade monitoring group Traffic and the University of Adelaide said, highlighting the challenge of tackling the trade in the world’s most heavily trafficked mammal.
At least 20 tonnes of pangolins and their parts are seized annually after being trafficked across borders, but smugglers are using dozens of new routes each year in a determined effort to stay ahead of authorities, the study said.
The scale-covered, ant-eating mammal is prized as an edible delicacy and ingredient in traditional medicine, especially in China and Vietnam, as well as across Africa.
International trade in all species of the shy creature was banned at a global wildlife meeting in South Africa last year, but conservationists have said there has been little sign of a slowdown in poaching.
The study analyzed international seizures from 2010 to 2015 and found that at least 120 tonnes of whole pangolins, their parts and scales had been confiscated by authorities.
About 27 new trafficking routes are created each year, it said, underlining the highly mobile nature of smuggling networks as pangolins are being hunted to extinction.
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