China needs to decide now to help or hinder wildlife trade

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Richa Syal is a Canadian journalist based in Kuala Lumpur.

Let’s follow an illegal smuggling route for one critically endangered species, the pangolin. Culled from a Malaysian jungle or plantation, these scaly anteaters are grouped together and transported north into Thailand. From here, they are smuggled through Laos and finally land in China.

Another route has wildlife traffickers smuggling pangolin scales from the Democratic Republic of the Congo to Turkey, then into Nepal before being arrested at their final stop, Shanghai, China.

In 2018, three others were also arrested for trafficking more than 500 kilograms of pangolin scales in Benin, on their way to Vietnam.

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Pangolins are the single-most trafficked mammal in the world and China is the primary market. Their scales are cherished for their purported medicinal properties and their meat is considered a rare delicacy. They’re also suspected of being an intermediate host of the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19.

Between January and August last year, more than 110,000 pangolins were seized around the world, according to the Environmental Investigation Agency. Through Nigeria, India, Myanmar, Indonesia and more, the illegal supply chains cover Africa and Asia.

This is why China’s recent decision to “comprehensively” ban the trade and consumption of wild animals comes as an overdue response to the public outcry over the state’s handling of a troubling history of wild animal utilization. In the fight to stop the spread of COVID-19, the country’s top legislative committee approved a proposal Monday “prohibiting the illegal wildlife trade, abolishing the bad habit of overconsumption of wildlife, and effectively protecting the lives and health of the people,” according to state television.

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Canada has so far seen 13 confirmed cases of the outbreak. Globally, there have been more than 80,000 cases, killing at least 2,800 people, the vast majority in China.

What was initially a temporary ban is now able to lay the groundwork for amendments to China’s contentious Wildlife Protection Law. But the trade of wildlife products is still permitted, and the ban offers no details on plans to curb poaching. This means sales of pangolin scales, for example, can continue alongside other wildlife overutilization.

Still, the move has conservationists, who have been pushing for a permanent ban for decades, expressing cautious optimism. Beyond pangolins, with tigers, rhinos, sharks and bears, this crackdown could have a global ripple effect in wildlife trade.

However, a permanent ban on wildlife trade can push the exploitation of threatened species further underground. Even currently, according to the EIA, traffickers are advertising medicinal treatments for COVID-19 with ingredients such as rhino horn and musk. The poaching of these species could increase.

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The wildlife trade is estimated to be a $98-billion industry in China that employs more than 14 million people, according to a 2017 report by the Chinese Academy of Engineering. Therefore, it’s no surprise that the incentive must be strong for conservation efforts to effectively shift markets away from threatened species.

China’s Wildlife Protection Law was enacted in 1989 and allowed for the capture of wild animals for commercial breeding, use in traditional Chinese medicine, public display and performances, as well as for consumption. This ethos includes endangered species that are protected under international laws. The first revision was made almost 30 years later, in 2016, to include language on strengthening protections for wildlife and their habitats, as well as raising public awareness.

Previous wildlife prohibitions have been short-lived – China is known for poor conservation regulations and excessive levels of illegal trade. In 2002, in the wake of the SARS epidemic, China placed a temporary ban on wildlife consumption – only until the outbreak was contained. In October, 2018, China announced it would end a 25-year ban on rhino horn and tiger bone. A month later, among public outcry, the decision was reversed and the implementation was postponed.

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Protection of endangered species must be a pro-active effort, not reactive to epidemics and mounting global pressure, as previous bans have proved.

To have a truly global impact, China must decide where to go with this wildlife ban: become a key driver in the extinction of critical species or a key defender of those creatures.

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