Pangasius faces an increasing risk of extinction

Pangolin - ants - are facing an increased risk of extinction due to high demand for food and medicine for pangolin, especially in China and Vietnam.

According to the Wildlife Fund (WWF), in 2011 alone, about 41,000-60,000 pangolins were caught by cassava for the above purpose, making the risk of extinction even more alarming, even though hunting Catching and trading this mammal is illegal under the United Nations Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).

Pangolin has been included in the 'IUCN Red List of endangered species endangered since 2008'.

One of the pangolins after confiscation was paid
return to nature at the forest in Karo, Indonesia.

WWF said the situation of catching, widespread smuggling of animals, deforestation and conversion of forest land use, especially in Indonesia and Malaysia, is exacerbating extinction threats to pangolins. . They are transported through Southeast Asia with the final destination mainly in China and Vietnam, especially when pangolin scales can produce pharmaceuticals that can fight cancer.

In Indonesia, trafficking of pangolins when arrested can face imprisonment of up to 5 years and a fine of up to 100 million rupiah (nearly 10,500 USD).

According to Indonesian Minister of Forestry Zulkifli Hasan, about 12 tons of pangolin in the country are smuggled each year, and in the period of 2011-2012, authorities discovered and seized up to 10 tons of pangolin, in which the latest was on December 10, 2012 with two Chinese citizens smuggling 7.4 tons of pangolin and 64kg of pangolin scales.

WWF estimates that the number of pangolins in the world has decreased by 50% over the past 15 years, and without effective measures to prevent illegal hunting and trading of pangolins, the pangolin will be greatly reduced. more over the next 15 years.