The first records of pangolin trafficking in South Sudan.

Pangolins, Pholidota, are hunted across their ranges in African and Asian countries. African Pangolins are hunted and consumed in sub‐Saharan Africa, where they are harvested for meat and openly sold on wild meat markets, and their scales used in a variety of traditional medicines, and cultural and spiritual activities. In Asia, high hunting pressure has led to substantial declines in Asian Pangolin, Manis sp.,  species populations, such as the Chinese Pangolin, Manis pentadactyla, and Sunda Pangolin, Manis javanica. As such African Pangolins, Phataginus spp. and Smutsia spp., have been increasingly targeted and trafficked for their scales (and occasionally meat) to supply the markets in Asia over the past two decades. All four species of African Pangolins are listed on Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), banning the international, commercial trade of wild‐caught pangolins. All species of African pangolins are considered to be threatened with extinction on the International Union for the Conservation of Nature's Red List of Threatened Species based on past, current and future population declines largely due to hunting for the international market and local use. African Pangolins are known to have been trafficked through 27 countries in Africa to meet international demands, although the countries from which the Pangolins were originally taken are often difficult to ascertain. Information on Pangolins in South Sudan is scarce, despite three species, the Giant Pangolin, Smutsia gigantea, the White‐bellied Pangolin, Phataginus tricuspis, and Temminck's Ground Pangolin, Smutsia temminckii, being present. Pangolin seizures were reported from all countries bordering South Sudan (Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Kenya and Uganda), apart from Sudan, between 2010 and 2015, but not from South Sudan, although it was unclear if this was due to a lack of trafficking or a lack of reporting.

In a paper published in the African Journal of Ecology on 12 July 2019, Daniel Ingram of the Centre for Biodiversity and Environment Research at University College London, and the Pangolin Specialist Group at the Zoological Society of London, Paul Peter Awol of the Wildlife Conservation Society in South Sudan, Khamis Adieng Ding of the South Sudan National Wildlife Service, and Albert Schenk, also of the Wildlife Conservation Society in South Sudan, make the first formal report of Pangolin trafficking in South Sudan.

Research in South Sudan has been hampered by past and present conflicts and political instability, which have led to an environment ripe for wildlife crime. South Sudan ranks 1st in the world on the Fund For Peace's Fragile States Index 2018 and joint second‐from‐last on Transparency International's Corruption Perceptions Index 2018. The conflict and political instability have resulted in weak governance, and South Sudan has been identified as a hub for the illegal trade in ivory. Previous studies have shown that South Sudan is being used as a route to transport ivory out of adjoining Garamba National Park in neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo, where organised poaching and trafficking by armed non‐State actors occurs. In 2017 the Wildlife Conservation Society reported that due to the conflict in South Sudan, 'poaching and commercial wildlife trafficking are increasing, as well as illegal mining, timber harvesting and charcoal production'.

Between June 2016 and December 2018, 11 seizures totalling 622 kg ivory were made at Juba International Airport which remains a transit point out of the country. No anti‐trafficking activities were conducted at Juba airport prior to 2016, in which time a Canine (Sniffer Dog) Wildlife Anti‐trafficking Unit was established between the Wildlife Conservation Society and the South Sudan National Wildlife Service. Together as part of broader anti‐trafficking activities, these activities are assumed to have a substantially disruptive influence on trafficking networks. The largest recent seizure was in June 2016 when 512 kg of largely ivory, reportedly from mostly Tanzanian Elephants, was seized at Juba International Airport en route from Uganda to Malaysia. Wildlife is also trafficked illegally across the border with Uganda by road, and into Ethiopia and Sudan. In early 2019, customs officers in Uganda across the border with South Sudan seized thousands of Pangolin scales, along with 750 pieces of ivory hidden in hollowed logs, which led to the arrest of two Vietnamese traffickers. Kenya has also been shown as a transit country for Pangolins and ivory, where ivory has reportedly come from South Sudan.

Ingram et al. report seven seizures of Pangolins and their parts within South Sudan between January 2014 and May 2019. 

On 14 January 2014 rangers of the Lantoto National Park confiscated two live Temminck's Ground Pangolins from a suspected bushmeat trafficker. The two animals later died, and the skins and the scales remained with the South Sudan National Wildlife Service.

Skins and scales of two Temminck's Ground Pangolins, Smutsia temminckii, seized in the Lantoro National Park in January 2014. South Sudan National Wildlife Service and Wildlife Conservation Society in Ingram et al. (2019).

On the 25 May 2016, a sniffer dog unit detected 10 kg of frozen Pangolin meat in the luggage of a Chinese man at Juba International Airport. The Chinese man was travelling with the meat from Paloich Oil Field in northern South Sudan. where he was working as an oil engineer, to an unknown destination. The engineer only received a short detention period before he was released, highlighting that due to the 2013–2018 conflict in South Sudan, the judicial systems are extremely weak, and effective prosecution of suspects, including wildlife crime suspects, remains a big challenge. The signing of the peace agreement between the Government and warring groups in September 2018 provides a potential new opportunity towards the return of the rule of law and the re‐establishment of legal systems.

Ten kilograms of frozen pangolin meat (from two Pangolins, heads and claws removed) seized at Juba International Airport in May 2016. Species unknown. South Sudan National Wildlife Service and Wildlife Conservation Society in Ingram et al. (2019).

On 15 June 2016, the canine anti‐trafficking sniffer dog unit of the South Sudan Wildlife Service and the Wildlife Conservation Society led a joint operation that resulted in the confiscation of Pangolin meat at a hotel in Juba.

In March 2018, several rings made from Pangolin scales (together with rings made of Tortoise shell and Cow horn) were confiscated at a market in Juba, although it is not known from which species they come from or when the scales were harvested. In addition to widespread appreciation for the specific taste of Pangolin, in certain parts of South Sudan, Pangolin scales are also believed to bring luck and provide protection against poisons and witchcraft.

Rings made from Pangolin scales (dark colour) mixed with rings made from Tortoise scales and Cow horn confiscated at a market in Juba in June 2016. South Sudan National Wildlife Service and Wildlife Conservation Society in Ingram et al. (2019).

Three seizures involving pangolins have been made between January and May 2019. In January, information from community members in a refugee camp was used to successfully identify an individual at the Jebel checkpoint who was carrying a bag of Pangolin scales and was travelling to Juba. The individual ran away before authorities could arrest him and left behind the scales. In May 2019, one dead Pangolin was confiscated in Juba on the 5th, and three live Pangolins (two adults and one juvenile) were confiscated in Juba on the 8th, all are Temminck's Ground Pangolins coming from the Southern National Park area in western South Sudan.

In 2012, a licence was issued by the authorities of Central Equatoria State in South Sudan to a Chinese entity to start operating a Pangolin farm in Juba. Obtaining further details on the circumstances of the issuing of this licence was difficult; however, the licence is not endorsed by the current administration of the South Sudan Ministry of Wildlife Conservation and Tourism, given suspicions that the farm might be(come) a cover for trafficking wild Pangolins. The farm is not operational, and no export permits are given or will be given by the Ministry for the export of Pangolin products.

The 2013-18 conflict in South Sudan made effective monitoring of the enforcement of wildlife trafficking more-or-less impossible. Despite the national and international trade for commercial purposes being banned, illegal trade in Pangolins, and their parts and derivatives, continues to take place. Other than links into Juba, including to Juba International Airport, which show that trafficking of Pangolin parts is being attempted, Ingram et al. do not know the exact trade routes through South Sudan though it is reasonable to assume that Pangolin products are also trafficked, like other wildlife products, by road across the borders with Uganda, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia and other neighbouring countries due to limited and, at certain locations, nonexistent border control. Furthermore, the link to an Asian industry worker in South Sudan is the cause for concern and follows a similar finding in Gabon. It is likely that volumes of Pangolin trafficking in South Sudan are higher than currently known, which warrants monitoring of both the current state of trafficking and pangolin populations going forward. Ingram et al. that enforcement agencies, technical partners and funding partners work together on concerted efforts to monitor and address wildlife trafficking in South Sudan.

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Pangolin trading in Mong La, Myanmar.

Pangolins, Pholidota, are highly specialized Mammals distantly related to the Carnivora (Dogs, Cats, Bears etc.). They are specialized Ant-eaters, lacking teeth and having long, sticky tongues used to extract the Insects from their nests. Uniquely among Mammals Pangolins are covered by keratin scales similar to those of Snakes and Lizards, although these are thought to be secondarily derived from Mammalian fur (i.e. modern scaley Pangolins had hairy ancestors). There are eight living species of Pangolins, four found in Asia and four in Africa, all of which are listed on the International Union for the Conservation of Nature's Red List of Threatened Species. The Sunda and Chinese Pangolins (Manis javonica and Manis pentadactyla) are listed as Critically Endangered, while the Philippine Pangolin and Indian Pangolin (Manis culionenesis and Manis crassicaudata) are listed as endangered; the four African species, the Black-bellied Pangolin (Phataginus tetradactyla), White-bellied Pangolin (Phatagimus tricuspis), Giant Ground Pangolin (Smutsia gigantea) and Temminck's Ground Pangolin (Smutsia temminckii) are all classified as Vulnerable. Pangolins face a variety of threats, including habitat loss and hunting for consumption by local human populations, however the major source of decline in all Pangolin populations, particularly those in Asia, is the international trade in both live Pangolins and Pangolin parts, to China and to a lesser extent Vietnam, where the meat of Pangolins is prized as a luxury food item and a variety of body parts including the scales and blood are used in traditional medicine. 

In a paper published in the journal Global Ecology and Conservation in January 2016, Vincent Nijman of the Oxford Wildlife Trade Research Group at Oxford Brookes University, Ming Xia Zhang of the Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Gardens of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Chris Shepherd of TRAFFIC discuss the trade in Pangolins and Pangolin parts at the Special Development Zone of Mong La in Shan State, Myanmar.

Pangolins are protected by law in both Myanmar and China, with potentially severe punishments for those found in possession of whole or partial Pangolins. However law enforcement is sometimes patchy in both nations, and Myanmar is thought both to be a source of Pangolins traded in China and a conduit for Pangolins from elsewhere in Asia and possibly Africa entering China. Three species of Pangolin are found in Myanmar, with the Sunda Pangolin, Manis javanica and Chinese Pangolin, Manis pentadactyla, found in the east of the country, including the Mong La area, and the Indian Pangolin, Manis crassicaudata, found in the west of the country, more tan 1000 km from Mong La.

The Mong La Special Development Zone is one of 24 such economic zones in Myanmar set up in 2001 with the aim of combating poverty and raising living standards in rural areas. The zone lies on the border with China, and while theoretically under the jurisdiction of Myanmar, the enclave used the Chinese Yuan Renminbi currency and operates on Beijing Standard Time, an hour and a half ahead of the rest of Myanmar, and electricity and phone services are provided by Chinese companies. The enclave is under control of the National Democratic Alliance Army of the Eastern Shan State, a former communist guerrilla group which signed a ceasefire with the government in 1999. The town has been developed with Chinese investment, and has an economy largely built on the entertainment industry, with casinos, nightclubs, karaoke bars, exotic meat restaurants and a thriving sex industry.

Nijman et al. visited Mong La in 2006, 2009, 2013-14 and 2015. On all occasions the central market was surveyed, as were a number of specialist wildlife shops in the town. On the 2013-14 visit the casino complex, about 10 km to the west of the main settlement was also surveyed, as were a number of wildlife restaurants.

Both bags of Pangolin Scales and whole skins were observed being traded in the central market on all visits, with bags of scales estimated to contain material from as many as three individual Pangolins. In 2006 four bags of scales and one skin were observed in the market, in 2009 five bags of scales and one skin, in 2013-14 fifteen bags of scales and ten skins, and in 2015 eighteen bags of scales and thirteen skins. Three live Pangolins were also observed being traded in 2006, and one in 2013-14. A Pangolin head was observed for sale in 2006. It was not possible to inspect any of the items sufficiently to identify them to species level, but all other animals seen traded in the market were native to Myanmar, with the exception of two Alligator Snapping Turtles, Macrochelys temminckii, a North American species widely bred in captivity in Asia, leading Nijman et al to believe these specimens were also likely to be native species.

Bags of Pangolin scales in the Central Wet Market of Mong La. Nijman et al. (2016).

The area also boasts a number of specialist wildlife shops, selling skins, stuffed and mounted specimens and similar items. No Pangolin related items were seen in these shops in 2006 and 2009, but in 2013-14 five Pangolin skins were observed along with three Pangolins in wine (Pangolin wine is considered to have medicinal properties), while in 2015 three skins and ten Pangolins in wine were observed. As these shops are known to sell a variety of goods from considerably beyond the borders of Myanmar, including African Elephant and Hippopotamus ivory, Indian Tiger skins, horns from White Rhinos, Tibetan Antelope and Bharal (a wild Sheep native to the Himalayas), and parts of Helmeted Hornbills, from Southeast Asia, Nijman et al suggest it is quite likely that some of these Pangolin remains come from beyond Myanmar.

In 2013-14 Nijman et al also visited a number of casinos and wildlife restaurants, observing both Pangolins in wine and live Pangolins (being sold for consemption). Ten live Pangolins were observed in cages outside restaurants, and three Pangolins in wine, while thirteen live Pangolins were observed in cages outside casinos.

Live Pangolin in a cage awaiting slaughter in front of the wild meat restaurants. Nijman et al. (2016).

See also...

Global Superpredator: How Human predation affects ecosystems in a way unlike that of any other predator.                                                    Humans are known to modify landscapes in ways quite unlike those...

Malayan Pangolin classified as Critically Endangered.                                                 The International Union for the Conservation of Nature's Species Survival Commission Pangolin Specialist Group at the Zoological Society of London published a report on 29 July 2013 warning that Pangolin's are...

Chinese Pangolin classified as Critically Endangered.                                                 The International Union for the Conservation of Nature's Species Survival Commission Pangolin Specialist Group at the Zoological Society of London published a report on 29 July 2013 warning...

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