Species Survival Network Launches Pangolin Working Group

Rhishja CotaAfrica, Asia, Mammals, Pangolins
The Pangolin Working Group will address legal and illegal trade in pangolins to ensure that wild populations are protected, and that CITES trade restrictions are adequately implemented and enforced. PHOTO: Tikki Hywood Trust
The Pangolin Working Group will address legal and illegal trade in pangolins to ensure that wild populations are protected, and that CITES trade restrictions are adequately implemented and enforced.
PHOTO: Tikki Hywood Trust

WASHINGTON, DC – The Species Survival Network (SSN), an international coalition of over 100 NGOs, has established a Pangolin Working Group to address legal and illegal trade in pangolins to ensure that wild populations are protected, and that CITES trade restrictions are adequately implemented and enforced.

The Working Group has committed itself to ensuring that these enigmatic species are not traded into extinction and will press for the promotion, enhancement and strict enforcement of applicable national and international regulations protecting pangolins, including the commitments made by 180 of the world’s governments under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). The Group will also work towards the uplisting of all eight pangolin species to CITES Appendix I, which prohibits international commercial trade.

The Pangolin Working Group includes representatives from:

Among its planned activities, the Pangolin Working Group will help to consolidate widely scattered pangolin trade information into a central repository for use by a variety of stakeholders working to conserve pangolins. As Rhishja Cota-Larson, Co-Chair of the Pangolin Working Group explains, “this effort will help provide a comprehensive picture of the global trade in pangolins, enable disparate groups and agencies to work together more efficiently, reduce duplication of efforts, and demonstrate the shocking scale of this trade to decision-makers.”

“In the second half of 2013, we have documented worldwide seizures equating to at least 17,000 pangolins. This is only the tip of the traffic in this imperiled genus,” stresses Charlotte Nithart from Robin des Bois.

“We are glad to be afforded the opportunity to represent the African pangolin species that are equally under threat,” says Lisa Hywood of Tikki Hywood Trust in Zimbabwe.

Nigel Palmer of Care for the Wild adds, “Care for the Wild has given a voice to wildlife in need for 30 years, and pangolins need that voice now. Pangolin populations are plummeting because of illegal poaching and trafficking, so it’s pleasing to see a concerted effort to help them.”

About the Species Survival Network:

The Species Survival Network (SSN), founded in 1992, is an international coalition of over 100 non-governmental organizations (NGOs) committed to the promotion, enhancement, and strict enforcement of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). Through scientific and legal research, education and advocacy, the SSN is working to prevent over-exploitation of animals and plants due to international trade. Learn more at ssn.org.

Contact:

Rhishja Cota-Larson, Co-Chair, Pangolin Working Group
rhishja [at] annamiticus [dot] com

DJ Schubert, Co-Chair, Pangolin Working Group
dj [at] awionline [dot] org

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I am the founder of Annamiticus and I have been researching and writing about wildlife trafficking issues since 2009. I also founded World Pangolin Day in 2012. I am the author of USAID Wildlife Asia's Pangolin Species Identification Guide: A Rapid Assessment Tool for Field and Desk. I co-facilitated and was a presenter at the USAID Wildlife Asia Pangolin Care Workshop. At the 4th Regional Dialogue on Combating Trafficking of Wild Fauna and Flora, I facilitated the species roundtables on pangolins. I have trekked with forest rangers in Cambodia, journeyed to the streets of Hanoi to research the illegal wildlife trade, and to the rainforests of Sumatra and Java to document the world’s rarest rhinos. At CITES meetings, I collaborate with colleagues from around the world to lobby in favor of protecting endangered species. I hosted the Behind the Schemes podcast and am the author of the book Murder, Myths & Medicine. I enjoy music, desert gardening, herping, reading, creating, and walking with my dogs. Check out my t-shirts and stickers at snoots + teefers.