It's said to be one of the most trafficked mammals in Asia due to its alleged medicinal value. They’re native to Africa and Asia, and during the night emerge from their dens to feed on a diet of ants and termites. Play it now. But I have been living in Guangzhou for six years, so I know people in Guangdong have this cultural tradition of eating wild animals, I think I might have heard of people talking about this pangolin as a wildlife cuisine before. Yet, there is no scientific I don’t think it is a superstition. Cloudflare - Cloudflare is a service used for the purposes of increasing the security and performance of web sites and services. [When] they don’t have enough milk for the kids, then that can help. Season seven of the Sustainable Asia podcast, the Pangolin Reports, was made in collaboration with China Dialogue and the Pangolin Reports. In the floor below, there were two to four restaurants of different classes. One picture showed a bowl of broth said to be made with eight animals, including pangolin, snake and swan. Jiaming then asked: “Do I need to pre-order?” And the restaurant owner says that they have it every day. It was trying to escape. China Dialogue - chinadialogue is an independent organisation dedicated to promoting a common understanding of China’s urgent environmental challenges. So I guess these are all signs of improvement – the very first steps. The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline. Bonnie Au, a Hong Kong-based journalist, and I go undercover with them here in Asia to look at why this prehistoric mammal is being trafficked to extinction. Preliminary Observation on Food Habits and Foraging Behaviour in Chinese Pangolin Manis pentadactyla Wu Shi Bao, Southern China Normal University, Liu Naifa, Li Youyu & Sun Ruyong 94 Asian pangolin… In China, the species’ distribution is understood to be closely correlated with two termite species ( Coptotermes formosanus and Termes formosanus ). But do pangolin scales really have the positive health effects that some people believe? Four of them live in Asia and four of them are from Africa. There are decent profits to be made by poachers; the meat sells for close to US$300 a kilo, while the scales fetch up to US$3,000 a kilogram. So it turns out that the cause of this outbreak has been linked to a wholesale seafood market, which allegedly sold all kinds of wildlife meat – from koalas and peacocks to salamanders, bamboo rats… and, of course, there’s the pangolins. In August 2019, there were discussions [around] increasing pangolins’ protection to a class one endangered species. Sun said that in the greater scheme of things, he believed the lives of animals and humans were equal. Pangolins are mammals. Jiaming, do you know how often pangolins are legally prescribed to patients? So a couple of months ago, he decided to fly from China to Myanmar and go undercover to learn more about the pangolin trade there. Traditionally, the Chinese people believe a pagolin's scales have medicinal value and consuming them could help improve blood circulation. Tin Htet Paing: My name is Tin Htet Paing. Scientists are pointing to these peculiar creatures as a possible source of the coronavirus outbreak in China, where a temporary ban on all wildlife trade is now in force. He gave me a trader’s number from Guangxi, and also made up a good cover story for me. China’s love for eating unusual species is backfiring now, as poor handling of these wild animals in crowded wet markets is somehow spreading diseases like the coronavirus to humans. Pangolins are used both as a gourmet meal – they are said to be delicious while the scales are used in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). Instead, they swallow small stones that remain in their stomach and help grind up their food after ingestion. So it’s clear that China’s recent affluence has increased the demand for pangolins. Pangolin meat is a delicacy in Vietnam and pangolin foetus soup can sell for as much U$2,500 in restaurants in China. This was really surprising to Jiaming and Tin. It fell on the ground. But let’s not forget that [there are] three, four, five hundred million middle class people in China. China Dialogue uses cookies to give you the best experience on our website. The Indian Pangolin is found sporadically throughout the plains and lower slopes of hills from south of the Himalayas to Kanyakumari, except the north-eastern region. 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It has improved a lot in China – fewer people are eating pangolins. Dr Lao Lixing: Pangolin scales were originally used in Chinese medicine mainly to promote lactation for women after delivering babies. Because, according to Jiaming’s research, the official guidebook on Chinese medicine lists pangolins as an allowable ingredient. Jiaming: The location was quite interesting. Lin's posts were caught about five years after they had been uploaded because, as it's understood, 'pangolin' has recently become a sensitive internet phrase. Welcome to Sustainable Asia. The … The restaurant owner also reassured Jiaming that they have been doing this business for over a decade. At least eight of the listed patent medicines contain pangolin scales, including a blood circulation pill and a remedy for abdominal pain. They buy them to impress friends, family and business partners, kind of like the seafood “four treasures” that we talked about in season four. Bonnie Au: Well, actually quite a lot. Last month, a web user, from Hong Kong, was caught posting pictures of a pangolin banquet on social media in 2015. So if they’re coming from outside Myanmar, then it would have to be through pretty sophisticated illegal – and probably criminal – smuggling networks. Marcy: Thanks to the Pangolin Reports and their courageous journalists Xu Jiaming from Guangzhou and Tin Htet Paing from Myanmar, we have a much better understanding now of how to stop the illegal pangolin trade and save this unique, harmless and adorable mammal from extinction. Chinese pangolin burrows were expected to differ within the study areas because of variation in environmental covariates at each plot. I just booked myself a taxi on the app, just waiting for it to come now. And that “other authorised uses” opens up a big loophole in the law. Note that you may see cookies placed by Google for advertising, including the opt out cookie, under the Google.com or DoubleClick.net domains. I’m Marcy Trent Long. Another screen grab, from March 6, 2012, showed a bowl of soup said to be made with pangolin and Cordyceps Sinensis, a medicinal fungus native to the Tibetan Plateau. The 14th Five Year Plan: what ideas are on the table. But those meetings have to be relocated given the Wuhan coronavirus epidemic. The weather is pretty hot, it definitely felt more crowded. Linkedin - LinkedIn is a business- and employment-oriented social networking service that operates via websites and mobile apps. The owner picked it up again, hitting it on its head. But then something even more unexpected happened. Pangolins are the most trafficked mammal in the world, in large part due to demand from Chinese consumers. So why are these shy creatures so sought after here in Asia, and what’s being done to save them? She also posted pictures of the food. Vox Pop 5: It’s not a particularly cute animal. Lao: Good question, but I can answer. We talked to Dr Lao Lixing who is the retired director of the University of Hong Kong’s School of Medicine – one of the leading global institutions researching the efficacy of wildlife ingredients in TCM. They really thought these [ingredients] could be used, and they practised their use in treating patients, so they found them useful and patients recovered. To find out more about us, visit our website: sustainableasia.co, and follow us on Twitter: @SustainableAsia, or Facebook: sustainableasiaco. Bonnie: She is a senior reporter and editor with the newspaper Myanmar Now. Read Cloudflare's privacy policy and terms of service. Bonnie: It’s like Jiaming said earlier: pangolin scales are just a more expensive choice for a Chinese medicine ingredient. It moves slowly. They are one of the most trafficked animals in the world because of their alleged medicinal value. Marcy: So, [in] the restaurant in Yangon, Myanmar where Jiaming and Tin went, somehow the laws are not being enforced? Sometime in the middle of 2017, Hong Kong businessman Wong Muk-nam disappeared without a trace.The 62-year-old owned a plastic trading factory in Xingtan, a township of Foshan in Guangdong, according to a friend who lives in the mainland Chinese province but refused to reveal his name.“We were chatting on WeChat, but suddenly he was out of reach,” he recalled. He suddenly became very alert. Jiaming: I’m from northern China. What are you? A woman has been detained by the Chinese police after showing off her meals made with pangolins, a critically endangered animal. She wrote: 'It's very special.'. ', In the other picture, Lin showed a plate of 'fried rice cooked with pangolin blood'. It’s interesting that, just as China is taking an admirable leadership role on the subject of biodiversity, the Wuhan coronavirus is shining a spotlight on a dark side of China’s wildlife consumption. Tin: We Burmese people, we’re not very… especially those who live in cities, we’re not very familiar with pangolins. ” He was very suspicious of me. Bonnie: That’s a good question. And actually since income and education are almost parallel – the more you’ve studied, in general, the more you earn – those are the main drivers of the consumption of pangolin parts and products. Eating wild animals, such as pangolins, is often regarded as a sign of wealth in China and is sometimes linked to corrupt officials. Vox Pop 1: It’s called thin kway kyat  [Burmese for “pangolin”]. In fact, a lot of illegal wildlife has been smuggled into China because of this new wealth. Marcy: OK. This website uses the following additional cookies: Google Inc. - Google operates Google Ads, Display & Video 360, and Google Ad Manager. Marcy: Under China’s Wild Animal Protection Law enacted in 1988, pangolins are listed as class two endangered wildlife, which means that Chinese law prohibits the hunting, selling and buying of pangolins for cooking and food consumption. 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She described the soup as 'very delicious'. It also said that Lin had removed the relevant post from her Weibo account. So I started developing a relationship with the trader, and when I got back from Vietnam to Guangxi, I asked if I could meet him. Pangolin, a scale-covered anteater, is a class-II protected specie in China. Quirky, eccentric maybe. But, of course, not all Chinese people follow this habit of eating wildlife. The Chinese pangolin's burrow detection is determined by forest, red soil, and food source in PA Police from the Forest Branch from the Shenzhen Public Security Bureau have identified the woman by her surname, Lin, according to People's Daily Online. The Chinese pangolin (Manis pentadactyla), once prevalent in most parts of southern China, was classified as “critically endangered” in 2014 due to overconsumption for medicinal purposes. And one guy came out holding a pangolin, and he put it on the mat. The Chinese pangolin (Manis pentadactyla) lives in colder, higher elevations than most pangolins and appears to be the only pangolin species that "hibernates" (although not considered a true hibernation, it's actually When Chinese police found them in … Pangolins are the most trafficked mammals in the world, and the Chinese pangolin may be the most endangered of them all. But because pangolins are considered a class two endangered wildlife, you can still hunt, buy and sell pangolins in China for some purposes. If you’re convicted in Myanmar, you would be sentenced to three to ten years in prison or fined up to US$700. Chinese pangolin is 48 to 58 cm long and weighs between 1.8 to 7 kg. Marcy: This February, China is supposed to convene pre-meetings in Kunming to prepare for the October UN biodiversity conference. It’s a protective protein that can be used for a lot of ailments in Chinese medicine. You can find his work on www.kalelover.net. It rolled up again into a ball, and the lady put it back into the nylon bag. We use this information to improve our sites and report on the reach of our content. He’s a brave lead reporter for the Pangolin Reports. Bonnie: From Dr Lao, we can see that the original intention of TCM was to respect and appreciate the use of animals. And I was like: “Whoa!” That was the first time I saw a live pangolin. The one on the left showed a plate of 'fried rice cooked with pangolin blood'. But Bonnie, what does the Wuhan coronavirus have to do with pangolins? Bonnie: That’s right. (Visited 1,234 times, 1 visits today) Cyril Ramaphosa: The Audio Biography Listen to the story of Cyril Ramaphosa's rise to presidential power, narrated by … It's indeed very nutritious because my nose just bled. Who let the dogs out? Bonnie: He said his first knowledge of pangolins came from this Chinese cartoon called Hulu Wa. The other option is that maybe they’re being sourced from their local habitat in eastern Myanmar? Lao: So that’s why he said: “I never use animal products in my formula.”. A big thank you to our voice-over [artist] Jack Lau and the Sustainable Asia team: Josie Chan, Crystal Wu, Yufei Wu, Sam Colombie and Jill Baxter. Marcy: The question is: where are the pangolins in these restaurants coming from? These lizard-like animals have up to 1,000 scales covering their bodies, and when threatened, curl up in a little ball for protection. Its hard scales work as a protective cover from predators, and when it feels threatened, it curls into a ball ("volvation"). Lin claimed that some of her senior family members had invited her to drink the soup and she couldn't refuse. We can braise them and have them in soups and hot pots, for everything.”, And here Jiaming says: “Just one pangolin, you can use it for several meals?”, “Yes, twice,” the owner said. Tin: The whole atmosphere [was] very strange for me. It’s located just opposite Myanmar’s international airport, in a hotel that seems to only target Chinese tourists. Jiaming: In China, it is very easy to buy legal and medicinal pangolin scales. The one on the right mentioned a broth made with eight animals, Pangolins are one of the most trafficked animals in the world because of their alleged medicinal value. In July, 2012, the woman posted a picture of a caged pangolin. The species is heavily hunted both within China, and its other range states, for its meat, which is considered a delicacy, as well as for its skin and scales which are used in traditional medicine. He then quoted from a famous book called Da Yi Jing Cheng by Sun Simiao, a Tang dynasty physician who is dubbed the “king of medicine” in China. Marcy: In the next episode of Season Seven: the Pangolin Reports we’ll look at the pangolin trade in Southeast Asia, and how that trade is not only killing off the pangolins but also getting innocent villagers caught in its web of criminal trafficking. Marcy: Why are pangolins so sought after by some Chinese? Vox Pop 4: It sheds tears. [But] in China, TCM doctors and clinics are reluctant to prescribe them to patients. This appetite for unusual species continues, even in the face of the “Wuhan coronavirus”. So the question is, what drives this huge demand from China? Jiaming: Actually, from the list of medicines we saw, China has around 70 categories and 200 kinds of Chinese medicine that includes the legal use of pangolins. She has worked in energy finance and environment policy roles in Asia for the past 20 years, and hosts a weekly radio programme in Hong Kong. Shy… they don’t show themselves in the day. Jiaming and the restaurant owner even exchanged their WeChat accounts. Simply find the accounts you find compelling and follow the conversations. The woman, who has … Maybe this will be the time when China finally decides it can move pangolins up to a class one endangered [species] under the law, and ban it from being sold for medicinal purposes. The species is distributed in East Asia Required Cookies should be enabled at all times so that we can save your preferences for cookie settings. And in fact some of these medicines have stopped [being] manufactured. These services allow advertisers to plan, execute and analyze marketing programs with greater ease and efficiency, while enabling publishers to maximize their returns from online advertising. Now almost half of those people are middle class, so this is an enormous accumulation of wealth. Get a weekly email featuring the pick of our articles, a digest of environmental stories from China, occasional news on events we host and our annual readership survey. The species has 18 overlapping rows of scales on its body which are also In October this year, for the first time ever, China is hosting the UN Convention on Biodiversity. In Chinese legend pangolins are said to travel all around the world underground, and in the Cantonese language the name for pangolins translates to “the animal that digs through the mountain,” o… Then also for other conditions, for example arthritic conditions – joint pain, particularly due to the wind, cold weather or dampness in the body. This came after another web user, from Hong Kong, was caught posting pictures of a pangolin banquet on social media. Lin, the 'pangolin princess', posted pictures in 2012 showing a bowl of soup said to be made with pangolins. She also works as a video journalist with the South China Morning Post. Google Analytics - The Google Analytics cookies are used to gather anonymous information about how you use our websites. Could this mean fresh hope for pangolins? They are thought to be the only mammals in the world which are covered in scales. Marcy: So by handling and eating these unusual animals, Chinese are now actually putting their own lives at risk? Marcy: It turns out that Myanmar is one of the hotspots for eating pangolins, partly because it’s so close to China. Bonnie: But things are looking a little bit it different now in China. So after registering and [bringing] it back home, you can boil it as Chinese medicine yourself. There was this one time where we connected with an experienced volunteer who has been fighting against pangolin consumption for years. The post said he had enjoyed the feast with officials from Guangxi. It got out of the basket right away. The other one is for the females’ menstruation, to stimulate the menstruation flow. They range from Vulnerable to Critically Endangered in conservation status depending on the species. Bonnie: During his trip in Myanmar, he partnered with a Burmese journalist. The woman, who has been billed by media as the 'pangolin princess', claimed she had eaten dishes including pangolin soup and pangolin fried rice. So the situation inside China appears to be improving and they seem to be enforcing these laws. This is Season Seven: the Pangolin Reports. Wander: So if you just multiply the enormous increase of the middle class with the number of people who potentially could buy… So it’s, according to our research, maybe just 8-10% of people have bought one piece of [TCM containing a] pangolin product over the past 12 months or 24 months. “Are you trying to put me in danger? According to Jiaming, Chinese diners who want to eat pangolin meat find it easier to go out of the country to places like Myanmar. The comments below have not been moderated. Pangolins have no teeth, and so their stomach is designed to grind up the food they eat with the … Bonnie: Yes. We are no longer accepting comments on this article. These stones, along with their strong stomach walls that have points protruding from them, allow the animals to crush and break down their food into a more digestible form. Bonnie: Well, yeah, it doesn’t really make sense, because under Myanmar law, hunting, selling and trading of pangolins is completely illegal. The raw ingredient is quite easily accessible. Some were specialty restaurants, some were fast food restaurants. Xu Jiaming: Today is the 14th of November. Marcy: TCM is traditional Chinese medicine. Published: 10:56 EST, 14 February 2017 | Updated: 14:17 EST, 14 February 2017, The 'pangolin princess': Chinese media have given the woman a nickname after pictures of the unusual meals emerged. The Chinese Pangolin resembles a scaly ant-eater. Bonnie Au is a podcast producer with Sustainable Asia and is based in Hong Kong. Read Google's privacy policy and terms of service. Or is it really just a superstition? Jiaming: I only got to know more about pangolins after I started working on the Pangolin Reports. Moment Phoebe the boxer dog practices her ice skating skills, Strange moment person walks with two rats on leashes made of wire, Shopkeeper 'beaten like a dog' in the street by hooded machete thugs, Dominic Raab confirms UK will 'enforce our waters' post-Brexit, NYPD shoots dead gunman who opened fire near Christmas carollers, That's the spirit! Bonnie: Jiaming and Tin are now at the restaurant, and he’s asking the owner whether there are any wildlife delicacies. Rare pangolin rescued near Agra: This rare species is protected under Schedule I of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 and is listed as 'endangered' … The food habits of Chinese pangolin (Manis pentadactyla) were surveyed by using the field observation methods and the analysis of droppings and stomach contents. China Dialogue is an independent organisation dedicated to promoting a common understanding of China’s urgent environmental challenges.