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| New Global Trade Routes Emerging for Pangolins | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: 18 Dec 2017, 12:08 AM (34 Views) | |
| skibboy | 18 Dec 2017, 12:08 AM Post #1 |
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New Global Trade Routes Emerging for Pangolins![]() credit: Keith Connelly 2017-12-16 An average of 20 tons of pangolins and their parts have been trafficked internationally each year with smugglers using 27 new global trade routes annually, according to new research released by TRAFFIC and IUCN. The report, The Global trafficking of pangolins: a comprehensive summary of seizures and trafficking routes from 2010–2015, was released in the wake of the world’s largest ever pangolin seizure, when China announced the seizure of 11.9 tons of scales from a ship in Shenzen last month. Known as the world’s most trafficked mammal, all eight (four Asian and four African) species of pangolins are prohibited from international trade under CITES. The new analysis of cross-border pangolin seizures has shown that at least 120 tons of whole pangolins, parts and scales were confiscated by law enforcement agencies from 2010 to 2015. It also shows that 159 unique international trade routes were used by traffickers during the six-year study period. By comparison, a previous analysis of CITES trade data found 218 such routes over a 38-year period from 1977–2014. The study, by TRAFFIC and the University of Adelaide, reinforces the highly mobile nature of smuggling networks, with traffickers quickly shifting from commonly used routes after a short period and creating many new routes each year. The global nature of the trade is demonstrated, as 67 countries were implicated. China and the U.S. were the two countries most commonly involved (i.e. having the highest number of incidents regardless of the quantity involved in each incident). China was the main destination of large-quantity shipments of scales and whole pangolins, while the U.S. was the main destination for large-quantity shipments of body parts. The quantities entering the U.S. were, however, not comparable to the massive shipments trafficked through Africa and Asia. European countries served as transit points, with the exception of the Netherlands (and potentially Switzerland), which was primarily a destination for pangolins and their products. The Netherlands was also the only European destination country for large-quantity shipments of body parts and scales from Uganda and China respectively. The proportion of incidents involving trafficked scales appears to be increasing through time, as does the proportion of trade involving African pangolins, and scales were more likely to be of African origin. Trade in Asian species on the other hand appears to be decreasing, perhaps indicating that Asian pangolins are declining in number. The modes of transport and commodities traded were different for the different species. African pangolins were significantly more likely to be transported by air, and to be in the form of scales, relative to Asian pangolins and other modes of transport. Asian pangolins were less likely to be transported by air, but this may be due to a large proportion (44.2 percent) of unknown transport modes. The report notes that even if the transport mode is known, in most cases it only reflects the mode of transport during the seizure event itself, and it remains uncertain cases how a shipment was transported before the seizure or how it was supposed to be transported after the seizure. The report urges all implicated countries to review laws and increase vigilance. ![]() Source: .com
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| skibboy | 23 Dec 2017, 01:15 AM Post #2 |
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Indonesia Struggles to Protect Pangolins![]() 2017-12-22 Indonesia, one of the last strongholds of the critically endangered Sunda Pangolin, has lost up to 10,000 pangolins a year to illegal trade despite significant enforcement success, finds a new TRAFFIC study. In Scaly Nexus: Mapping Indonesian pangolin seizures, TRAFFIC researchers found an equivalent of 35,632 pangolins had been seized in 111 enforcement cases over the six-year period from 2010 to 2015. Further, massive seizures have occurred since then, with at least 21 seizures in Indonesia since 2016, including a 2.5 ton seizure of pangolin meat in October 2016. The volume of pangolins and parts seized annually ranged from an equivalent of 2,436 to 10,857 pangolins per year. Data showed that Indonesia functioned mainly as a source country for pangolins, with domestic seizures accounting for 83 percent of the 111 cases studied. Authorities also identified or arrested over 120 suspects linked to those cases. Sumatra was found to be a hotspot for the trade, with the island topping the list of places recording the most seizures. This island also served as a key link in the illegal pangolin trade between Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore, with the city of Medan in North Sumatra appearing to act as a major collection site before export. China and Vietnam were also implicated as destination countries, while Malaysia was reported to be the most prominent transit country in the movement of pangolins from Indonesia. There were 11 recorded seizures (involving 1,046 animals) in Malaysia, all of which were seized on vessels by the marine police with the source of pangolin shipments reportedly from Indonesia. The seizures in Malaysia took place in three main States (Johor, Melaka and Perak) on the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia and generally involved shipments of live pangolins (ranging between 15 and 100 pangolins in each shipment) by sea. The largest of the Indonesian seizures in terms of number of pangolins seized was one of 5.9 tons of pangolin meat and 790 kg of scales (amounting to an estimated 3,474 whole pangolins) at the Belawan International Container Terminal in Medan, Sumatra, which was reportedly headed for Vietnam. These were smuggled among several tons of snakehead fish and Asiatic Softshell Turtle meat. In terms of weight, the heaviest seizure was of a container with over 8,500kg of dead pangolins and close to 350kg of pangolin scales (which was estimated to amount to 2,812 whole pangolins), which occurred at the Tanjung Priok Port, Jakarta (Java). The study recommended that law enforcement capacity should be enhanced to improve proactive investigation into the international pangolin trade. Multi-agency collaboration, both at a local (provincial), national and international level, should be established and/or intensified to tackle the international and organized criminal networks involved in smuggling pangolins across Indonesia’s borders. ![]() ![]() Source: .com
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3:22 PM Jul 11