EVERY three minutes a pangolin is killed and now China, one of the countries where pangolins are sought after for their scales, has mooted a conservation plan aimed at a drastic reduction in poaching.

Today is world pangolin day and it’s estimated that the world’s only mammal with scales is poached every three minutes, either for illegal bushmeat or to supply scales to the Asian market. The scales are used extensively in traditional Chinese medicine.

At the 78th meeting of the UN CITES Standing Committee last week, China introduced a proposal, Pangolin Conservation In China, which outlined its intention to reduce the use of pangolin scales in traditional medicine.

Wild Africa, an organisation which communicates African wildlife news, says that China’s submission projected a 90% decrease in pharmaceutical and hospital use of pangolin scales by 2026, and at least a 50% drop in overall medicinal use and sets an annual consumption quota of approximately 1 metric ton — a drastic reduction from the 25 metric tons allowed between 2008 and 2015.

Peter Knights, CEO of Wild Africa, says he hopes that China will phase out the use of pangolin scales very quickly.

“There are a number of alternatives in traditional medicine and the source of the scales has never been transparent. We also need more awareness and better law enforcement in Africa to keep it off illegal bushmeat menus.”

In 2016 the commercial trade of pangolins was outlawed under UN CITES and Chinese pangolins are protected by law. However, the country still permits the use of pangolin scales from a “stockpile” for traditional Chinese medicine .

According to Wild Africa, authorities have refused to reveal the extent of this stockpile or its rate of use, and this has raised concerns that scales from poached pangolins are still traded “legally”.

Around the world pangolins are classified as vulnerable and even critically endangered, but some countries like Nigeria have taken significant steps to combat the illegal trade of pangolin scales through legislative measures and enforcement.

Wild Africa says that early last year the country introduced the Endangered Species Conservation and Protection Bill, which, if enacted, would impose harsher penalties for trafficking in illegal wildlife products such as pangolin scales.

The organisation says that since 2014, pangolins have been the world's most trafficked mammal, but they reproduce very slowly and their populations are unknown.

“They remain largely unknown to the public with conservation efforts critically underfunded. Many South Africans don’t know what pangolins are and are unaware that pangolins not only exist in our country, but are also rapidly disappearing before our eyes,” Wild Africa said.

There are eight pangolin species across the globe, four of which are native to Africa, but the continued existence of all of them hangs in the balance.

The only indigenous species of pangolin in South Africa is the Temminck's pangolin.

While the number of pangolins in South Africa is unknown the African Pangolin Networking Group said that between January and August 2023, authorities seized approximately 30 pangolins in the country, mainly from Limpopo which is infamous for pangolin poaching.

Nicci Wright, co-chair of the African Pangolin Working Group, says that Temminck’s pangolins are incredibly elusive, making it very difficult to determine their population in South Africa. Wright says as small, nocturnal, and burrow-dwelling animals, they are rarely seen and difficult to study in the wild.

“Unfortunately, this hasn’t stopped traffickers, and over the past decade, the illegal trade in these pangolins has steadily increased. In response, dedicated law enforcement teams have been conducting intelligence-led sting operations, successfully rescuing hundreds of live pangolins and securing convictions under the Threatened or Protected Species Regulations of the National Environmental Management: Biodiversity Act.”

Wright says some pangolin traffickers receive the maximum 10-year sentence.

South Africa is also seen as a key transit hub for the illegal pangolin trade in Southern Africa, with many pangolins being smuggled in from neighboring countries to be sold here.

“However, we still have no reliable data on how many pangolins are smuggled out of South Africa. Seizures in Asia continue to uncover scales from all four African pangolin species, including Temminck’s pangolin, highlighting the ongoing threat they face. World Pangolin Day is a critical reminder of the urgent need to protect these remarkable animals before it’s too late," said Wright.

Pangolins play a crucial role in natural pest control by consuming up to 70 million ants and termites a year.

Wild Africa says that culturally in Africa pangolins are viewed as a symbol of wisdom and good fortune. It says they are known as the “wise old man” of the bush carrying the secrets of 85 million years of evolution that could end in a single human lifespan.