Calvin Manika
THE arrest of two poachers this month in Matetsi area who were intercepted by alert Hwange wildlife scouts after being found in possession of a female pangolin weighing over 13 kg is a huge step ahead in terms of protecting the endangered species, not only in Zimbabwe but to the global wildlife conservation community.
The subsequent sentencing of the two men to a mandatory 9 years each sends a strong message to the illegal wildlife trade community.
Give Dube, 28 and Cleopas Mlalzi, 25 recently appeared in the Magistrates Court sitting at Hwange facing a charge of unlawfully possessing a specially protected animal, namely a pangolin in contravention of s 45 (1) (b) as read with s128 of the General Laws Amendment Act (GN 148/2011) of the Parks and Wildlife Act [Chapter 20:14].
A pangolin which has a live value of US$5 000, its name comes from the Malay word “pengguling”, which means something that rolls up. Pangolins have a very long tongue and in the larger species can extend to 16 inches! They live on a diet of termites and ants which they catch using their long tongues.
Studies by wildlife activists unearths that numbers of the armoured creature are declining rapidly because they are being hunted for their scales and meat.
Tikki Hywood Trust in Zimbabwe, a not-for-profit pangolin conservation organisation notes that pangolins are also suffering due to heavy deforestation of their natural habitat and they are now the most trafficked mammal in the world.
In Asia, pangolins are increasingly threatened by high demand for their scales, which are used in traditional medicines, and for their meat, which is consumed as a luxury food.
As a result, populations of Asian pangolins are in decline and supply is shifting to the four pangolin species found in Africa, where local cultural use may already pose some level of threat.
Wildlife experts say Temminck’s Ground Pangolin (Smutsia temminckii) is the only pangolin species native to Zimbabwe.
Very little is known of its status in the wild, although populations are thought to be in decline. In 1975, two years after the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) was concluded pangolins were placed on Zimbabwe’s Specially Protected Species list, which affords the species full protection.
According to the study, (Taking a stand against illegal wildlife trade: the Zimbabwean approach to pangolin conservation), published by the International Journal of Conservation in 2015, TRAFFIC, a leading non-governmental organisation working on wildlife trade in the context of both biodiversity conservation and sustainable development said during 2010–2015 a total of 65 pangolin-related seizures were reported in Zimbabwe, with the annual number of confiscations increasing significantly over this period and in subsequent years.
Despite Zimbabwe having only one of the eight species of pangolins, consequently all eight pangolin species are on the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of animals threatened with extinction.
Though the reasons on what the jailed Hwange poachers wanted to do with the pangolins was not revealed, South Asia’s illegal trade of the animal has led to the pangolin being the most trafficked animal on the planet.
At a global wildlife summit in September 2016, the 182 nations of (CITES) The Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species, unanimously agreed a total ban on international trade on all species.
However, in response, the Zimbabwean authorities fortified their stance and enacted stiffer sentences on those convicted of pangolin crime.
According to Zimbabwean law, any person convicted of the unlawful killing, possession of, or trading in any Specially Protected Species is liable, on first conviction, to imprisonment for a period of not less than nine years, and for a second or subsequent conviction to imprisonment for a period of not less than eleven years. Such strong enforcement is absolutely essential in the fight against illegal wildlife trade as it deters illegal wildlife dealers and their syndicates.
According to African Wildlife Foundation (AWF), large-scale trafficking is driven by a belief that pangolin scales have magical and curative properties and demand for their meat.
“When mixed with bark from certain trees, the scales are thought to neutralise witchcraft and evil spirits. If buried near a man’s door they are said to give an interested woman power over him.
The smoke from their scales is thought to improve cattle health, keep lions away, and cure ailments like nose-bleeds.
Although their scales are made of keratin, the same substance that makes up human hair and nails, they are in high demand in certain Asian countries where the scales are believed to cure illnesses ranging from cancer to asthma, and their meat is considered a delicacy.
In some areas, tribes believe a sighting of this scaly mammal indicates there will be a drought and the only way to prevent it is by killing the animal,” notes AWF.
African Wildlife Foundation, along with partner organizations, creates public awareness campaigns, like the When the Buying Stops, the Killing Can Too campaign, with celebrities like Jackie Chan, Yao Ming, and Richard Branson to educate consumers of wildlife products about the damage being done to wildlife populations and the lack of any medicinal or magical properties in pangolin scales.
At its 17th meeting (Johannesburg, 2016), the Conference of the Parties adopted amendments to contribute to the achievement of the Agenda 2030 Sustainable Development Goals and their targets relevant to CITES.
With this new Strategic Vision, the Conference of the Parties to CITES outlines the Convention’s direction in the new millennium and takes into account, within the context of its mandate, issues such as contributing to the Agenda 2030 Sustainable Development Goals and their targets relevant to CITES, contributing to the conservation of wildlife as an integral part of the global ecosystem on which all life depends; and cultural, social and economic factors at play in producer and consumer countries.
