Officials from the National Forestry and Grassland Administration announced on August 2 that China is upgrading the protection level of Chinese pangolins from second class to first class on schedule.

According to the speech, the Chinese pangolin, a critically endangered species currently under second-class state protection in China, is facing increasing threat from fragmented habitats, trafficking and poaching. Despite few sightings of wild individuals in China's Yunnan, Anhui and Zhejiang provinces, the wild population of this precious species requires a higher level of protection.

Since 2007, China has banned all poaching activities for the Chinese pangolin, and a ban on pangolin trade has been in effect since October 2018. 

China will work with other international organizations including the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime and the International Criminal Police Organization to fight pangolin trafficking and poaching activities.

There are eight species of pangolins in the world, four Asian species and four African species, and all of them are under threat from human activities.

(Cover image via VCG)

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