Pangolins Inching Closer to Extinction

​worldanimalnews.com/breaking-3-pangolin-species-inches-closer-to-extinction-as-deadly-poaching-continues/

Three species of pangolin are inching closer towards extinction as activists press government leaders to issue them more protections and shut down markets for pangolin parts. The adorable mammals are being hunted to extinction on top of losing their habitats making their chances for long term survival slim without appropriate protections put into place. 

The Center for Biological Diversity recently released its intent to sue the Trump administration for failing to recognize pangolins under the Endangered Species Act effectively granting them much needed protection. Without the ESA protection, there is no plan in place to curb poaching, shut down any kind of market in the US for pangolin scales / products, or work to better protect their habitat. They are in desperate need of ESA protection before it is too late to recover these wonderful creatures. 

Pangolins are poached for their scales which are mistakenly thought to have medicinal purposes in Asia. They are also poached for their meat and continue to endure a diminishing habitat leaving them in a seriously bad position. In fact, of the three varieties currently inching towards extinction, two of them have seen their numbers drop 50% in the last 21 years while the third has seen an 81% decrease in their population. At this rate, we will see complete extinction of all three varieties within the next 20 years. This is why it is imperative to better protect the pangolins and work towards curbing poaching and discrediting any information that implies pangolin scales have medicinal benefits leading to a decreased desire to have them.

What a world we live in today where almost every week we are learning of a new species that is teetering on the edge of extinction almost entirely due to our actions. Elephants, giraffes, rhinos, sharks, whales etc., have all recently found themselves on the endangered species list and sadly, all of them landed on this list because of the greed and despicable actions of humans. At the rate we are going, we are going to wipe out a good percentage of wild animals on this planet if we do not shape up and start acting responsibly for the sake of our planet. How greedy of us to continue to poach an animal that is on the verge of literally being gone forever. 

We are continuing to do our planet and the species that also call it home a disservice and it is entirely due to our own greed and lack of empathy or concern for those who suffer due to our actions. The pangolins are simply another notch in our shameful record and we must take this opportunity to protect them before we see them go extinct.

HAPPY VEG