Eco groups sue Chinese forestry department for failing to save smuggled pangolins
- Environmental NGO files lawsuit against Guangxi regional bodies accusing them of failing to look after endangered animals properly after rescuing them
- Pangolins are among the world’s most trafficked mammals because of the demand for their scales in traditional Chinese medicine
In the first lawsuit of its kind, a Chinese forestry authority has been sued for failing to save a group of smuggled pangolins.
The forestry department in Guangxi and its terrestrial wild animals rescue centre are accused of dereliction of duty in relation to the deaths of 32 pangolins two years ago, a court in Nanning, the region’s capital, heard on Monday.
The case, filed by Beijing-based non-governmental organisation the China Biodiversity Conservation and Green Development Foundation,is the first public welfare lawsuit in China involving the endangered animals, according to The Beijing News.
Pangolins are among the world’s most trafficked mammals and China is the most common destination for large shipments of pangolins because their scales are valued as ingredients in traditional medicine, their meat is considered a luxury food item and their blood is used as a healing tonic.
The foundation said that when the Guangxi rescue centre received the live pangolins that police seized from smugglers in August 2017, it offered to help treat the mammals, but the offer was rejected.
