Poaching Pangolins
Pangolins are not vicious
creatures; they are more like a pinecone. Pangolins defensive position is to
roll up like a ball making it hard for predators to grab ahold. This is the
pangolins only defensive technique. They don’t have razor sharp claws or spikes
to keep predators away especially the ones that are most dangerous; humans.
Pangolin’s defensive position makes it easy for poachers to just pick pangolins
up and throw them in a bag. Poachers first use a pack of hunting dogs to locate
the pangolins. Once they are found they either set up snares in front of their
home that are located on the ground and wait for them to come out or they just
pick them up and toss them in a bag.
Poachers do not
kill pangolins because they are worth more alive. After poachers capture
pangolins they either freeze them alive or give them a sedative. Poachers and
smugglers usually use these two techniques because pangolins do not handle
stress well. Pangolins usually end up dead before they reach their final
destination when being smuggled, thus making it bad for business. Restaurants
want to be able to show their high paying customers that they are receiving a
fresh endangered delicacy. The worth of pangolins to a poacher is about
$22.5 per Kilo. The worth of a pangolin to a restaurant sky rockets to $350 per
kilo to a restaurant in Vietnam.
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