Practical Ways to Help Pangolins

There are many things you can do to take an active role in protecting pangolins. Here are several practical ways you can help:

• Don’t eat pangolins. They are highly endangered and any consumption of pangolins encourages more illegal trafficking. In most countries, eating them or purchasing them could bring significant punishment including lengthy imprisonment. 
• Don’t purchase pangolin products. Similar to eating pangolins, purchasing pangolin medicine, jewelry, scales, or other related products encourages the further reduction of the already endangered population.
• Support organizations that are actively advocating for pangolins. There are many good organizations raising awareness of pangolin trafficking, doing research on pangolins, lobbying for increased protection and enforcement of anti-trafficking laws, and initiating conservation programs. There are many great organizations that exist, but here are a few notable ones:
• TRAFFIC - the Wildlife Trade Monitoring Network - www.traffic.org
• IUCN-SSC Pangolin Specialist Group - www.pangolinsg.org
• Save Pangolins - http://savepangolins.org
• Annamiticus - http://annamiticus.com
• International Union for Conservation of Nature - http://www.iucn.org
• Report pangolin trafficking. If you ever encounter pangolin trafficking, sale or consumption, report the illegal activity to the proper authorities. The more awareness and watchful eyes looking out for the illegal trafficking of pangolins, the more trafficking laws can be enforced and current endangered populations be protected.
• Sign petitions and lobby government representatives. Petitions and lobbying efforts can be effective tools to increase awareness among influential individuals and to promote better pangolin conservation and anti-trafficking enforcement. Many petitions have been created on Change.org and other similar websites advocating for greater protection of pangolins. Sending letters and emails to government officials explaining the endangerment issues Pangolins are facing is another way to raise awareness among influential people. It helps those in leadership positions realize that this is an issue of great concern to the general public and that it should be seriously considered in future policy changes.
• Help spread awareness of pangolin trafficking. Raising awareness in your social sphere of influence is a simple and effective way of helping pangolins. Share articles you read about pangolins on social media, with your friends and family. Follow pangolin conservation news sources and share the latest updates with others. Raising awareness of this issue is extremely important as it has brought more attention from policy makers, researchers, and conservationists. This in turn brings the change needed in order to protect the survival of pangolins in the future.