Thread: Don't Catch Them All, Warn Pangolin Protectionists

HANOI —
Environmentalists have urged governments attending a global wildlife conference in South Africa this month to impose maximum restrictions on the trade of endangered pangolins, a scaly mammal that is the inspiration for two Pokemon characters.

The long-snouted, nocturnal pangolin, the size of a small dog and found in Africa and Southeast Asia, is the world's most illegally trafficked mammal, according to the United Nations Environment Program.

Vietnam is at the center of the trade, said Bui Thi Ha, the deputy director Of Education For Nature Vietnam, an organization that works to reduce consumer demand for wildlife products.

She said more than 2,600 pangolins had been seized in Vietnam over the last three years, along with more than 30 tons of frozen meat and scales.

"Vietnam is both a transit point for pangolin trafficking, as well as a large consumer market. The destination for most of the pangolins is China, but the demand for them is on the rise, especially in the big cities," she told Reuters.

It is unclear how many pangolins are left in the wild. ENV said pangolins are shipped from Africa to meet demand in Asia, where products made from pangolins are prized for their supposed medicinal value and have led to local numbers falling.

The pangolin trade is already limited under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). Environmentalists are pressing CITES to increase the trade restrictions to "only in exceptional circumstances" - the highest level of protection. CITES, an agreement among 183 governments to ensure trade in wild animals and plants does not threaten their survival, will consider the request at the Sept. 24-Oct. 5 meeting in South Africa.

Don't Catch Them All, Warn Pangolin Protectionists

Why not create a Pangolin theme park, cartoon character, and computer game etc... make people look at it as something special and interesting... make it the national animal of Vietnam?! Some leadership from the top is needed.

Originally Posted by CaptainNemo

Some leadership from the top is needed.

But what's in it for them?

I think we should genetically engineer and infect all pangolins with a virus which is harmless to them, but which causes extreme sickness (or...what the heck, why not death ? ) to all people eating their meat.

^ Hmmm. Maybe they could be made carriers of leprosy, like armadillo. That would keep the poachers at bay.

This would make it worthless and the Chinese would chuck it into everything, same as they do with rat, etc. The mentality is difficult to understand.

You may be right....they'd probably just cook the shit out of it.

What about a rumour of nasty stuff then ? Chinese are pretty superstitious.

Get some local iBone salespitch that it shortens the dick much like the sight of a crusty old woman, sorta opposite of Viagara

The problem these things have is that when threatened they roll themselves into a ball with spiky scales sticking out, effective against all but the worst predator, humans, who just pick them up and put them in a bag

Humans never miss an opportunity to disappoint. There are so many heartless greedy F'rs wont be happy until everything is used up.

The cutest things. I once made the mistake of telling some locals in Batu Ferringhi that I had just seen a pangolin- naturally they captured and ate it.