China upgrades protection to Pangolins to highest level

China has upgraded the protection of the pangolin, believed to be the intermediate host of the coronavirus, to that of the first-class protected animals on par with the endangered species like giant pandas.

Pangolin meat is viewed as a delicacy in China and its scales are commonly used in traditional Chinese medicines to promote lactation and cure impotence resulting in the massive poaching of the mammal.

The pangolin is also believed to be the world's most trafficked mammal. About one million pangolins are estimated to have been poached in the last decade, and 20 tonnes of pangolins and their parts are trafficked internationally every year, according to the wildlife trade monitoring network TRAFFIC.

After initially suspecting the snake and the bat for the COVID-19, Chinese scientists believe that the pangolin may be an intermediate host of the novel coronavirus to humans.

This weekend, China announced to upgrade all species of the pangolin from second-class to first-class protected animals considering their rapidly decreasing numbers due to overhunting and habitat destruction, state-run Global Times reported on Saturday. Other first-class protected animals include giant pandas, Tibetan antelopes and red-crowned cranes.

At present, all the eight existing pangolin species in the world have been listed as endangered species in their respective countries and regions, Sun Quanhui, a scientist from the World Animal Protection, told Global Times.