March 06, (THEWILL) – As the World Wildlife Day was celebrated on Thursday, March 3, 2022, the Nigerian Conservation Foundation (NCF) has called on all Nigerians to take urgent steps toward protecting the surviving species of Pangolin. NCF earlier joined the rest of the world in commemorating the World Pangolin Day (WPD) on Saturday, February 19, 2022.
Described as the most hunted and trafficked mammal globally, all the eight species of pangolin stand the danger of going extinct unless drastic steps are taken to protect it from the activities of poachers.
The World Pangolin Day is created to raise public awareness on the endangered status of pangolins, who are threatened by poaching and deforestation of their natural habitats.
An estimated 1 million pangolins have been illegally taken from the wild across the world. If actions are not taken urgently, the earth might lose its only scaly mammal and soil aeration to the incessant cruelty of pangolin smugglers.
The Nigerian Conservation Foundation is seeking help from all concerned Nigerians to raise awareness of the need for conservation of pangolins.
The World Pangolin Day is also an annual historic event committed to raising civic awareness of proactive actions aimed at conserving and combating trafficking in specimens of pangolins, while also appraising and celebrating milestones attained in the global push towards pangolin conservation.
Pangolins play a critical role in the ecosystem by providing the earth with natural pest control. A single pangolin eats as much as 70million insects per year, which is important to keep soils aerated, tender and fertile.
In recent times, the rate at which pangolins were locally sourced, packaged and routed through Nigeria for the international market and the scale of occasional seizures reported are cogent to motivate the earnest support and participation of identified stakeholders.
According to MONGABAY – Nigeria’s emergence as a trafficking hub for illegal wildlife appears unhindered by the coronavirus pandemic. Between 2016 and 2019, more seizures were made by law enforcement worldwide, with more than half of this linked to Nigeria. In July 2021, officials of the Nigeria Custom Service (NCS) made the third-largest seizure of pangolin scales inside the country. This year, several seizures have been made.
The recklessness of human activities against pangolin and other wildlife will not only drive the species into extinction but continue to bring an epidemic and eventual pandemic.
Janefrances Ebere Chibuzor is a Tourism Writer at THEWILL
