The eight recognized species of Pangolin run a high risk of extinction due to its overexploitation and the loss of its habitat, said the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), which revealed that its illicit trade remains extensive and very organized.
That animal was suspicious at the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic if the direct transmitter of the virus to the human being has been, but this hypothesis was relegated and the tray of the bats were privileged, although the majority of experts believe that, if there was an intermediary, it did not identify yet.
Pangolines are considered protected species in an integral way in almost all countries and are on the list of animals with greater degree of protection, so their trade is strictly regulated and limited to very specific situations.
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Illegal Pangolin trade threatens the species
However, between 2016 and 2024, the seizures of Pangolín products affected more than half a million pangolines in 75 countries and 178 commercial routes, and the Pangolin scales represented 99% of the confiscated parts, revealed an IUCN report on this species.
However, the organization indicated that it has the conviction that this only reflects a fraction of real trade, since not all illicit shipments are detected or seized by order forces.
In addition to international traffic, local demand for pangolin meat and other products persist in many countries.
It also involves a problem to estimate its situation, the lack of updated population estimates and limited management in landscapes where Pangolines live.
With EFE information
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