Saving the world’s most trafficked animal

A few weeks ago, Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) made one of the largest seizures of wildlife contraband the country has ever seen. Customs officers in the northern Uganda town of Elegu, at the border with South Sudan, impounded an estimated 750 pieces of ivory and thousands of pangolin scales, which have a street an estimated value of $8m (about Shs29b). This led security arrest two Vietnamese nationals Dhan Yon Chiew and Nguyen Son Dong on charges of wildlife trafficking and illegal possession of wildlife products. The two were arraigned in court, before they were remanded to Luzira prison.
A recent research by the Netherlands-based Wildlife Justice Commission (WJC) lists Hong Kong, China as the top hotspot for seizures of pangolin scales, recording 28.3 and 27.5 tonnes of confiscated scales respectively between 2014 and 2018. In the last five years, the rate of the scales being smuggled has grown significantly and more organised. About 300 pangolins are globally poached every day, making them the most trafficked mammals in the world.

Why the pangolins?
During the just concluded World Pangolin Day celebrated on the third Saturday of February, reports showed that the demand for the armour-plated ant eaters comes mostly from China, where pangolin scales are sadly believed to be a cure all of sorts and their stew believed to increase a man’s virility.
According to reports from Chinese Medicinal Pharmacopeia, the scales of the pangolin are roasted and used for detoxification, arthritis, and a variety of other ailments. The scales also help lactating mothers to secrete milk, cure skin diseases and improve blood circulation.
In Vietnam, pangolins are frequently offered at restaurants catering to wealthy patrons who want to eat rare and endangered wildlife meat. Just like Asia, in Africa, the mammals are a delicacy and are sought for their scales to be used in a wide variety of ethno-medicinal and spiritual uses.
The scales are made of keratin, a similar material as human fingernails, and which is the major reason they are used as an ingredient in traditional Chinese medicine, however, there is no substantial scientific evidence to prove their effect.
The high appeal of poaching pangolins correlates with the high price of its scales, which is more than $3,000 (about Shs11m) per kg as per the prices of exotic animals and wildlife, 2016 on black market. The meat is sold on the same market for $300 (about Shs1.1m) per kg.

Tougher laws
There are eight subspecies of pangolins, four in Asia and four in Africa. Uganda boasts the black-bellied pangolin, Giant Ground, Temminck’s Ground and White-bellied pangolin. Both the African and Asian solitary animals range from vulnerable to critically endangered on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) red-list and are protected under the national and international laws.
It is certainly time to act. We need to act big, and fast. At the moment, pangolin poachers are sentenced to seven years maximum or a fine of the value of species. The unfortunate bit is that foreign culprits are fined and deported because if kept in jail, they burden our taxes.
Different cases have been handled differently. The government has had many cases of prosecution where some are won and others are lost.
The commissioner of Wildlife Conservation at the Ministry of Tourism, Wildlife and Antiquities, Dr Akankwasa Barirega, says they can win or lose depending on the strength of the case, but is hopeful about the stricter law which is not yet in force. It will be Uganda Wildlife Act, 2019 when the president signs.
“Parliament enacted it into law and now awaits assent or no assent. If it is not assented to in 30 days and it is not returned to Parliament for any change in 30 days; it becomes a law in force with or without the President’s signature,” he reveals.
If passed, an offence prescribed in Part XI where an offence prescribed relates to specie classified as extinct in the wild, critically endangered or endangered; a person shall on conviction be liable to a fine of not exceeding one million currency points or to life imprisonment or both. (A currency point shall be equivalent to Shs20,000).

Pangolins in Uganda
Last month, a very rare new footage of giant pangolins hit the conservation headlines showing these bizarre scaly creatures in their natural (nocturnal) habitat at the Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary in Uganda.
In the videos, the blunt-nosed creatures, which are the only mammals with scales, are seen meandering about the undergrowth, sniffing for food and danger. Many conservationists perceived this as a sort of relief.
Meanwhile, Animals have long served as totems of clans in African cultures. Since the ancient days of Buganda Kingdom, the shy, toothless scaly ant-eater known as Olugave has been protected as one of the oldest clans in the royal domain, but unfortunately, a one Mukiibi just, like his kinsmen, are not sure whether their children and grandchildren will catch sight of the clan emblem. This concern follows a revelation by the Pangolin Conservation Project funded by David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation (DSWF) that there is an increasing need to better protect pangolins that are being rescued and recovered in Uganda. “Due to limited capacity in handling live specimens, some of the rescued pangolins do not make it safely to the wild and die in transit”.

Preventive measures
The Uganda Wildlife Education Centre (UWEC) is working around the clock to offer the pangolin (lugave) clan and Ugandans a new lease of life in the conservation of this vulnerable specie.
The UWEC executive director, James Musinguzi, says the centre responds to calls from communities to pick rescued or abandoned pangolins.
“We pick them, rehabilitate and return them to the wild. Pangolins are very difficult to keep in captivity because of their diet. They feed mainly on termites, which is not an easy meal to find,” he explains. He adds that the centre advocates for pangolins to stay in the wild.
In similar efforts, DSWF launched funding for the Pangolin Conservation Project in March 2017, in order to develop a national policy statement to support Uganda Wildlife Authority’s (UWA) enforcement work and respond to the new Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) legislation. At the CITES conference of parties in 2016, African pangolin were up-listed, meaning all eight species are now on Appendix 1 of the convention, and trade is permitted only in exceptional circumstances.
In 2015, UWA came under attack from Greenwatch for alleged issuance of license for exporting pangolin scales. The NGO took action following media reports that the wildlife authority had issued or was about to issue an export license to a one Smith Ewa Maku and Smico Skin Craft Industries to export seven tonnes of pangolin scales estimated at $4.2 million (Shs15b).
The environmental advocacy group cited different laws and Acts which Uganda is a signatory to and the license was cancelled.
In a recent UWA presser, the authority executive director, Sam Mwandha, pledged to continue working with sister agencies to ensure all those involved in the illegal trade are brought to book.
“With the cooperation from all relevant agencies, illegal wildlife trade will be stamped out of Uganda and we shall continue to conserve for generations,” he emphasised.
This commitment creates hope for full enforcement of laws and penalties for pangolin smugglers and poachers once the President assents. For now, the onus is on us to notify the authorities if we know of anyone capturing or possessing pangolins.
This is the only way to put an end to wildlife crime and save a specie that represents the cultural and wildlife values of our communities.