Genetic test tracks origins of illegal pangolin products in China, adding to conservation toolkit
- Scientists say southern Cameroon is emerging as poaching hotspot for endangered animals whose scales are prized in traditional Chinese medicine
- Genetic testing method can reduce time between seizing pangolin parts, tracing trade routes and cracking down on traffickers, according to researchers
The researchers found that poaching activity shifted from West to Central Africa from 2012 to 2018 as the Asian pangolin population shrank, with Cameroon’s southern border emerging as a poaching hotspot.
They also identified Nigeria as the highest-volume transit hub in Africa, where traffickers gather pangolin scales and then ship them overseas, according to maps of African pangolin seizures.
The team came up with a genetic test that can identify the precise geographic origins of confiscated pangolin scales – an innovation they say could reduce the lag time between intercepting wildlife products, tracing the supply chain and enforcement.
Beijing banned the hunting of pangolins in 2007 and outlawed imports of the animals and their by-products 11 years later.
Without specifying the number of the animals, the forestry administration said in September that pangolins had been spotted in the wild in the Chinese provinces of Guangdong, Fujian, Hainan, Jiangxi and Zhejiang.
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In the new study, the researchers said smugglers had turned to importing African pangolins to meet demand as populations of Asian pangolins declined. The white-bellied pangolin, which lives in West and Central Africa in an area stretching from Guinea to Zambia, has consequently become the most trafficked mammal in the world.
The scientists analysed more than 650 white-bellied pangolin scales that had been seized by Hong Kong authorities. The samples were selected from a total of 38 tonnes (42 tons) of scales – harvested from at least 105,000 dead pangolins – that arrived between 2012 and 2018.
Genetic analyses and data from seized pangolin products showed that the samples were harvested in southern Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea and Gabon and collected in Nigeria. They were then transported to destinations in Southeast Asia, often by sea, and ultimately sold in southeastern Chinese provinces, particularly Guangdong and Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region.
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Lead author Timothy Bonebrake, a professor at the school of biological sciences at the University of Hong Kong, said while scientists had previously been able to identify a pangolin species from its scales based on genetics, the new method allowed them to pinpoint the geographic origin of the animals. This could give crucial insights into the impacts on the animals and guide resource allocation for conservation efforts.
“When they are hunted, typically local communities or maybe [people from] nearby cities will consume the meat for food. They will take off the scales and accumulate them,” he said.
“Once there are enough scales, they are often shipped to a central location and then often they are shipped to Asia in large shipments.”
Bonebrake said the new tool could provide information on a sample’s origins within a week of testing.
“It is like a crime show. If you find DNA evidence at a crime scene, and if the criminal is not in a database, the DNA profile will not match anyone,” he said.
“Thanks to our African collaborators, we now have the database. When we have a scale in Hong Kong, we can run the DNA sequence, use the database to get the match and know where it came from.”
He said that with greater legal protection put in place in 2020 and speculation about links between the coronavirus and pangolins, more studies would be needed to understand how the market in China had been affected.