On January 25, with the city of Wuhan in quarantine during the first days of the pandemic, a lunar year began announced as that of the Metal Rat, but that ended up being that of the mystery pangolin.
This animal, innocent until proven otherwise, owes its popularity to the suspicion that it served as a bridge for the coronavirus that, after jumping from bats to humans, has already claimed almost two million lives.
His admirers include Boris Johnson, who has described him as "an evolutionary miracle that boasts a retractable tongue somehow attached to his pelvis."
"I don't think any of us wanted to deprive the planet of such a wonderfully strange little creature," proclaimed the British Prime Minister, calling for its protection during a United Nations biodiversity summit in September.
The pangolin even has its own world day: February 15.
This shy, lonely and nocturnal animal does not get along well with fame, which spends most of its time sleeping in a ball — its name derives from the Malay word
peng-guling
, “the one who rolls up” -.
Their existence was tough enough before the indictments: Pangolins are an endangered species and the world's most trafficked wild mammal.
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One of the reasons for the persecution is the healing properties that traditional Chinese medicine attributes to its scales.
These, composed of keratin - the same material as human nails - are considered beneficial for lactation, skin diseases and even paralysis.
At the intersection of illegality and demand there is profit and, therefore, also crime.
The most notorious case has arrived at the beginning of the month.
A court in the Chinese city of Wenzhou, Zhejiang province, sentenced a mafia dedicated to trafficking in products related to these animals.
Two individuals, surnames Yao and Wang, were sentenced to 14 and 13 years in prison, respectively, along with a fine of 4 and 3 million yuan (500,000 and 380,000 euros).
In addition, 15 other individuals have received a sentence of between 12 years and 15 months, according to the digital portal
Thepaper.cn
.
This organization had been active since 2018. Its scheme began in Nigeria, from where a partner smuggled the scales that were later distributed throughout the country.
The security forces arrested them in October 2019, after intercepting a cache of almost 11 tons, the largest in history, with an approximate commercial value of 114 million yuan (14.4 million euros).
A report in the journal
Science and Technology
estimated that such quantity would have required the sacrifice of at least 50,000 specimens.
China has progressively increased the protection of the mammal.
In 2007, it banned its hunting and in 2018 it did the same with its imports.
In June of this year the authorities approved new legislation, vetoing the use of its scales in traditional medicine and designating it as a “protected wild animal of the first level”, at the same level as tigers and pandas;
which raised the criminal punishment for its commercialization to a minimum of 10 years and a maximum of life imprisonment.
Pangolins rest, coiled in their burrow safe from noise, a little more secure.
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