World Pangolin Day: ‘Nigeria needs new legislation to combat illegal trafficking of pangolins’

The Wild Africa Fund, on Saturday, launched a weeklong campaign to raise awareness about the threats facing Nigeria’s pangolins.

In an event to mark World Pangolin Day, the Wild Africa Fund called on Nigerians to protect the endangered species while urging the federal government to pass the Endangered Species Conservation and Protection Bill.

According to the organisation, Pangolins in Nigeria are on the brink of extinction. The illegal trade in pangolins and their scales is driven by the elitist taste for their meat and the demand by the Asian markets.

The organisation further stated that Pangolins are the most trafficked mammals in the world and Nigeria happens to be the transit hub for the illegal trafficking of pangolins and their scales.

“As keystone species, pangolins play a key role in the preservation of the ecosystem as they consume about 70 million insects in a year to regulate the insect population numbers so that
crops can grow,” Wild Africa Fund noted.

“The continued poaching and trafficking of pangolins will negatively impact Nigeria’s biodiversity. Nigeria is blessed to be one of the few places in the world where pangolins thrive and it is indeed Nigeria’s cultural heritage.

“Loss of habitat due to deforestation and farming activities reduce pangolin numbers while illegal
hunting for their scales and meat is very damaging for an animal that breeds so slowly with only
one pup over about eighteen months.”

Peter Knights, founder of Wild Africa Fund, said: “Although pangolins have been on earth for over 80 million years, we may lose them in a single human lifetime.”

“The keys to their survival lie in effective laws such as the Endangered Species Conservation and Protection Bill which has just passed the first reading in the federal house of representatives. Better enforcement, education of buyers and hunters, and development of alternatives to illegal bushmeat, such as fish and organic chicken like Noiler are required to address the threats facing pangolins. Pangolins don’t breed well in captivity so protecting them in the wild is our only option.”

Kelechukwu Iruoma, Wild Africa Fund Nigeria representative, said it is not too late to protect the country’s endangered pangolins and increase their population.

“But we need to act now to protect them. We urge the Nigerian government to pass the Endangered Species Conservation and Protection bill to combat the illegal trafficking of pangolins and their scales,” Iruoma said.