The very high market value ascribed to pangolin, whole or in parts is not accidental. It is a reflection of the benefits expected to be derived from its use (Sodeinde and Soewu, 1999; Soewu and Ayodele, 2009; Brautigam et al., 1994).
Pangolin meat is not only a delicacy of choice but somewhat an exclusive preserve of the wealthy and influential in the society (Soewu, 2013a). A Nigerian adage states that “only the rich can request a meal with pangolin as an essential part of the ingredients”. This belief has actually turned pangolin into an article of ostentation, offered and purchased at a price well above its real value just because it is seen as a status symbol. This is in part responsible for the desperation of hunters and poachers to go all out in pursuit of pangolin. Sodeinde and Adedipe (1994) reported that the quality of pangolin meat in terms of taste rated higher than of other species such as cane rat, Thryonomys swinderianus and Maxwell’s duiker Cephalophus maxwelli that are also commonly hunted for food.
Utilization of pangolin as ornament dwells primarily on the scales (Figure 6). Another Nigerian adage demonstrates the cultural value attached to pangolins; it states that “the only motivation or justification for a man to adorn a flowing gown made with pangolin scales is a flagrant, needless and oppressive display of opulence” (Soewu, 2013b).
Pangolin skins are also processed into leather used for making footwear, bags and belts; and the scales and claws are used in decorations and in or as ornaments.
Tradomedicine
The World Health Organisation (WHO) stated that traditional medicine refers to health practices, approaches, knowledge and beliefs incorporating animal and mineral based medicines, spiritual therapies, manual techniques and exercises, applied singularly or in combination to treat, diagnose and prevent illnesses or maintain well-being (WHO, 2000). Use of pangolins in traditional medicine is common in Africa: Nigeria (Soewu 2008; Soewu et al., 2012), Benin (Akpona et al., 2008), Cote D’Ivoire (Caspary, 1999), Tanzania (Walsh, 1996).
The use for food and traditional medicine appears to exert more pressure on wild populations of animals than other uses (Bodasing, 1999, Ott et al., 2002; Soewu, 2006, 2013a). The demand created by traditional medicine has, however, been identified as one of the causes of the overexploitation of the wild population of numerous animal species (Soewu 2008). This indiscriminate use of wild animals, especially endangered species in all forms of traditional medicine is a cause of growing concern (Alves and Rosa, 2005; Soewu and Adekanola, 2011). Abdullahi (2011) reported an increase in the use of traditional medicine (TM) in Africa and the rest of the world.
TM, as observed, is being integrated into the mainstream of modern health care system in African countries including Ghana, Nigeria, Zambia, Mali and South Africa just as is the practice in China. Hunting and poaching animals for their medicinal values has brought many of the wild species closer to extinction and necessitated their listing in the red data book (Alves et al., 2011). Many African species, including pangolins now survive in fair numbers only in protected areas (Goodall, 2000). Pangolin rates very high on the list of species used for this purpose (Soewu and Adekanola, 2011; Seowu, 2013b).
The pressure on pangolin population from traditional African medicinal practices is premised on the belief that this animal has a reservoir of medicinal, magical or mystical properties. In southwestern Nigeria, pangolins are used to treat between 42 and 47 different ailments/conditions among the Ijebus and Aworis of the Yoruba tribe (Soewu and Ayodele, 2009; Soewu and Adekanola, 2011). The conditions treated range from therapeutic to psychological and even spiritual.
Soewu and Ayodele (2009) revealed some gender and age preferences for the use of pangolin in traditional African medicine. According to the report, some preparations specifically require juvenile and pregnant female animals. A pangolin seized in Zimbabwe in May 2012 had had most of its scales removed, which deviates from the local practice of muti, where the animal is kept alive and its scales removed as and when needed for medicinal purposes (Chandeller and Hywood, 2012)
Persons requiring pangolin-infused preparations for treatment of their peculiar conditions will always rate the exploitation as more important than conservation. Substituting other animals for pangolin in these preparations has been suggested as a means of alleviating the pressure on the species. Soewu and Adekanola (2011) reported that only 27.7% of pangolin-based preparations would accommodate use of substitute animals. However, some of the animals identified as possible substitutes for pangolin are themselves usually of greater conservation concern as indicated by their IUCN listings. For instance, gorilla, identified as a possible substitute in a particular case is actually listed on schedules I and 1 of CITES and Nigerian Decree No 11, respectively (Soewu and Adekanola, 2011).
Sustainability
An enormous number of meat in these instance pangolins, is being taken from some of the most bio-diverse forests in the world and this indicates the scale of seriousness of an ecological problem that will escalate if commercial trade goes unchecked (Bowen-Jones and Pendry, 1999; Caldecott et al., 1994; Fa et al., 2000, Soewu 2008). A huge number of animals are taken by subsistence hunters. Ott et al. (2002) reported that several regions of the world are experiencing massive defaunation, unregulated and unsustainable depletion of fauna resources, as a result of the bush meat crisis. Wilkie et al. (1998) stated that it is not habitat loss but defaunation that poses the greatest immediate threat to animal conservation in forests of west and central Africa.
Sodeinde and Adedipe (1994) estimated that an average of 24 pangolins was being supplied each month to the markets in Ogun State, Nigeria, with a total of 142 recorded between November 1988 and April 1989. In a more recent study, Soewu and Ayodele (2009) reported that a higher figure:178 whole pangolins were sold into traditional African medicine during a period of three months amongst a population of people that represent less than 3% of the Nigerian population. Soewu and Adekanola performed another study in 2011, where the utilization of 64 pangolins were documented between 40 traditional medicinal practitioners within a month, giving a monthly average of 1.6 pangolins utilized per practitioner.
It has been suggested that the importance of pangolins as traditional medicines throughout Africa is likely to increase threats to their population (Anadu et al., 1988; Brautigam et al., 1994). The number of traditional medicinal practitioners in Africa cannot be ascertained but it has been estimated to be at least one practitioner to 2000 people (Soewu, 2013a). If we add the figures above that of the bushmeat markets spread all over the nook and crannies of the continent of Africa, the result would be devastating.
All these studies indicate a continuous decline in the size and number of the pangolin captured from the bush and a growing difficulty in encountering the animal. Sodeinde and Adedipe (1994) used an extinction-susceptibility rating to predict the long-term fate that would befall pangolins if the exploitation continues unabated. Extinction risk index for pangolins species was estimated to be 0.68 (Table 1).
Bowen-Jones (1998) observed that even the animals that could be hunted sustainably are often being exploited at probably unsustainable levels, and that controls need to be introduced in order to make sure that they are not added to the vulnerable category. However, Chardonnet et al. (2002) has established that excessive harvest of wildlife depletes the wildlife resource when the level of exploitation overtakes the recruitment rate. The level of exploitation for pangolins so far has clearly overtaken the recruitment rate. According to Challender et al. (2012) evidence suggests the conservation status of six pangolin species (all four African and two Asian species) is decreasing.
More importantly, pangolins sold and utilized in Africa today come directly from the wild as there are no records of successful captive breeding and ranching of this species yet (Soewu and Ayodele, 2009; Soewu and Adekanola, 2011). The situation in West and South Africa is suggesting that most pangolins found on the market have been taken from protected areas (Sodeinde and Adedipe, 1994; Brautigam et al., 1994). International trade in pangolins is undoubtedly having a detrimental effect on population levels (Chandeller, 2011)
Intercontinental trade
Due to the clandestine nature of illicit trade in wildlife, it is often difficult to estimate trade levels, hence minimum volumes can only be approximated/gauged based on data from media reports of seizures and the findings of research (Broad et al., 2003; Chandeller and Hywood, 2012). The exact proportion of the hunting and trade in pangolins in Africa intended for intercontinental trade, international trade within Africa or for domestic use is not clear. However, the nature and circumstances surrounding seizures that have been made recently suggest links to intercontinental trade rather than to local use. Since 2008, a small number of seizures comprising African pangolins and derivatives have taken place in Asia and in Europe where the end destinations were reported to be China, Thailand and Hong Kong. This is undoubtedly a small fraction of actual trade levels based on the low detection rates associated with wildlife trade. Although the quantities of pangolins and scales seized are not known in all cases, some of these consignments included pangolin scales ranging in weight from between 1 and 115 kg; one comprised 100 African White-bellied pangolin skins (with scales attached) that had originated in Guinea and was bound for Thailand (Chandeller and Hywood, 2012). There is an evidence of a potentially growing intercontinental trade in African pangolins between Africa and Asia. Over the last two years, there have been a small number of pangolin-related seizures from Africa which have been destined for Asian markets. For example, in 2009, 100 kg of ‘
Manis spp.’ scales were seized in transit from Côte d’Ivoire to Hong Kong (Chandeller, 2011). Hong Kong Customs officials intercepted an illegal shipment of 2.6 tons of pangolin scales from Cameroon via Malaysia- the second haul from the African continent in less than a month. The 2,340 kg of scales were discovered on June 11, inside 115 bags on a shipment declared as timber. This follows the May 28 seizure of
one ton of pangolin scales, initially reported by the Hong Kong Customs and Excise Department on May 28 as arriving from South Africa (however, later information suggests the illicit cargo arrived from Kenya or Uganda, via Malaysia). The seizure at the Kwai Chung Custom House examination compound, the largest seizure of pangolin at Hong Kong’s port in five years, is estimated to be worth R5-million. This trade is having catastrophic effects on the populations of all of the remaining eight pangolin species world-wide, with the Asian pangolin populations showing dramatic declines in recent years. Illegal trade is rife in central and west Africa and was known to occur at low levels in southern Africa prior to this incident. This most recent seizure indicates that illegal trade is widespread in southern Africa as well, and is far from being sustainable (Anonymous, 2014d). In July 2012, 115 kg of pangolin scales were seized in Uganda; the trader claimed that he had many suppliers and that he always exported the pangolin scales to China. He said that he received deliveries from various locations within the country and from the Democratic Republic of Congo. According to a spokesperson from the Ugandan Wildlife Authority, wealthy Chinese were encouraging the illegal trade. This supports the concern that intercontinental trade, if not the case already, is set to be a major threat to Africa’s pangolins, especially if this practice is occurring else-where in Africa, facilitated by a growing Chinese presence on the continent as a result of increasing trade and economic links. The larger volumes suggest this trade is commercial in nature but operating in parallel with smaller volumes (Chandeller and Hywood, 2012).
Conservation awareness
As reported earlier, there is a general lack of awareness of conservation laws and protection status of wild animals in Africa. In Soewu and Ayodele (2009), well above 90% of the respondents had no awareness about conservation status of, or any threat to the survival of pangolins. On their willingness to support conservation of pangolins, less than 10% expressed varying degrees of interest in any conservation programme for pangolins while others expressed total apathy towards such projects.
Recommendations
The first step towards saving our darling species is to determine the sizes of isolated populations of pangolins across their ranges in the region and on the continent of Africa. Such a study requires concerted, coordinated and harmonized surveys throughout Africa. This is no doubt a daunting task, but it is attainable. Population studies should also incorporate evaluation of immediate and remote threats to the supporting ecosystem.
There is a need to quantify the number of pangolins sold and utilized within a specific time frame in the region and on the continent of Africa for all the identified uses. The sales figure should include domestic, cross-border and intercontinental trade. This will give an insight into the exploitation pressure on resources in the wild. According to Chandeller and Hywood (2012), research needs to be undertaken on inter-continental trade, given the potential magnitude of the threat and the suspected precipitous decline in Asian pangolin populations driven by demand in the region, inparticular China and the growing economic ties between Africa and China. Such a study should be supplemented with research into the status and ecology of African pangolins in order that an informed assessment can be undertaken into the impact of trade on pangolin populations. A critical examination of these uses as an index of pressure on resources in the wild is a prerequisite for any conservation programme to be meaningful and effective (Chardonnet et al., 2002; Soewu, 2006).
Lastly, the twin approach of increasing yield and reducing demand for pangolins should be adopted.
Yield boosting measures
The following in situ and ex situ approaches to increasing yield are suggested.
In situ
Pangolin sanctuaries: Establishment of sanctuaries around identified populations of pangolins will be a good starting point. It gives room for regulation and monitoring of exploitation. This will also raise the awareness about the conservation needs of the species among the populace in surrounding communities.
Involvement of host communities with incentives: Communities adjacent to conservation projects will more readily lend their support to such schemes if they are included as stakeholders and co-beneficiaries. Members of communities inhabited by pangolin population(s) should be engaged as much as possible in the projects. Offers of scholarship support to indigenes of such communities to pursue courses in conservation/ecology related courses will enable the engagement of such indigenes. This will prepare an army of conservationists among the indigene within a short time, thereby making the spread of the conservation message a lot easier.
Ex situ
There is a need to boost the yield of this animal by establishing pangolin husbandries across all regions of the world, most especially in Asia and Africa which had been regular suppliers over the years. Semi-captive breeding of pangolins for education, research and re-introduction purposes will greatly enhance the survival and continued existence of these species.
Reducing demand
Massive enlightenment campaigns on pangolin conservation should be mounted across all regions of the world. A drop in demand would impact on other dynamics of the trade and make it less rewarding to hunt pangolin. For this to be more effective, the manufacturing sector of the economy should be involved such that consumer pro-ducts can begin to carry conservation-promoting inscriptions. It is also expedient we carry the pangolin gospel farther by participating in other fora and gatherings beyond the strictly conservation circles, for instance the World Social Forum. A point to emphasize to the world is that unsustainable depletion of wildlife resources not only embodies a challenge for conservation, but more importantly represents a serious threat to the health status and food security of human population (Soewu, 2006; Soewu 2008; Marshall, 1998).
Strengthening the legal machineries
With the recent re-evaluation and adjustments in the conservation status of pangolins by the IUCN Red Data List, and the on-going efforts by CITES to review the trade status of these species, there is a very urgent need to review the status of pangolin species across the continent as regards the African Convention on Nature and Natural Resources. It is also essential that all countries within the region review the status of these species accordingly and strengthen their legislation towards protecting pangolins and all other species identified as being under varying degrees of threats in their territories. Such legislations should be duly implemented to ensure its effectiveness.
The establishment of a joint-regional organ to monitor cross-border movement and trade in pangolins and all other vulnerable species would also go a very long way in enhancing the continued survival and availability of these species.
