Kuala Lumpur: This is the third and final part of a series of articles on the availability of pangolin-based traditional medicines in the market despite the international ban on pangolin trade. About seven years ago, Terry (not his real name) visited Vietnam and experienced an allergic reaction due to an insect bite, prompting him to seek treatment and medication from a local traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) practitioner. He was given capsules containing pangolin scales to treat the itchiness he was suffering from. Since he still had some of the medicine left, he put it in his backpack to bring it back home. Unfortunately, upon scanning his bag on arrival at Kuala Lumpur International Airport, customs officers detained him after they found a box of medicine bearing the image of a pangolin in his bag. ‘I told them the medicine was for my allergy but they informed me it could not be brought into the country without a permit because pangolins are a fully protected wildlife species. I told them I was unaware of
the regulations because in Vietnam, it was sold openly,’ he told Bernama, adding he was released without any further action but his medicine was confiscated.
According to BERNAMA News Agency, in 2016, all pangolin species were placed under Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), meaning that any international commercial trade of the animal is prohibited. The Sunda pangolin, the only native species found in Malaysia, is listed as Critically Endangered on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species. Despite being classified as an endangered and protected species and the international trade ban on them, pangolins, which are insectivorous mammals that feed on ants and termites, are highly sought after in China and Southeast Asia. Their scales, believed to have medicinal properties in TCM, are commonly used to improve blood circulation, promote breast milk production, and relieve arthritis.
According to the Department of Wildlife and National Parks Peninsular Malaysia (Perhilitan), all pangolin species are fully protected under the Second Schedule of the Wildlife Conservation Act 2010 (Act 716). Perhilitan Enforcement Division director Noor Alif Wira Osman said pangolin scales are also listed under the Third Schedule of the International Trade in Endangered Species Act 2008 (Act 686), which requires a permit to import or export them. He said under Section 68(2)(c) of the Wildlife Conservation Act 2010, any person who takes or possesses any fully protected wildlife or any part or derivative of such wildlife without a special permit may be fined not less than RM150,000 for each wildlife, part or derivative, and imprisoned for up to 15 years. These penalties are provided for under amendments to the Wildlife Conservation Act 2010 (Wildlife Conservation [Amendment] Act 2022 or Act A1646).
TCM practitioners, meanwhile, face disciplinary action, including the revocation of their practicing licences, if found storing or selling medicines containing protected wildlife ingredients, including pangolin scales, to customers or patients at their premises. Senior assistant director of the Traditional and Complementary Medicine Division at the Ministry of Health (MOH) Dr. Tajul Iqmal Tajul Arus said TCM practitioners could have their licences suspended under the Traditional and Complementary Medicine Act (Act 775) if complaints are lodged against them. ‘TCM practitioners found storing or processing medicines containing protected wildlife ingredients are usually subject to the laws under Perhilitan and NPRA (MOH’s National Pharmaceutical Regulatory Division). If they are convicted, or if we receive complaints through the Ministry of Health’s Public Complaints Management System, only then will we take disciplinary action by suspending their practicing licenses,’ he said.
Meanwhile, experts who monitor wildlife trafficking believe that poaching is driven by the multibillion-dollar TCM industry, which mass-produces pangolin scale-derived pharmaceuticals to treat a variety of common ailments. Due to its proximity to wildlife markets in Vietnam and China and its population of native pangolins, Malaysia is both a source country and a trafficking route for the illicit pangolin trade, they claimed. According to TRAFFIC, an international wildlife trade monitoring network, 82 percent of all seizures of live pangolins and pangolin scales between 2015 and 2021 were made by India, Vietnam, mainland China, Indonesia, and Malaysia.
Perhilitan records have shown that the smuggling of live pangolins in Peninsular Malaysia was most frequent between 2016 and 2018, with an estimated 50 to 130 pangolins seized annually. Most of these seizures took place along the Malaysian-Thai border in the north. Perhilitan’s Noor Alif said from 2019 to 2024, a declining trend was observed, with fewer than 20 live pangolins seized during that period. This decrease may be closely linked to the Chinese government’s decision to remove pangolin scales from its list of TCM ingredients in 2020.
As for pangolin smuggling activities, a decline is evident in local and international enforcement statistics, especially following the declaration of the COVID-19 pandemic when China decided to remove pangolin scales from its list of TCM ingredients. However, pangolin experts interviewed by Bernama believe this does not mean smuggling activities have stopped entirely. They noted that such activities are still ongoing across Southeast Asia, including Malaysia which is home to the Sunda pangolin (Manis javanica) – the most heavily trafficked pangolin species.
Meanwhile, SAC Muhamad Azlin Sadari, deputy director at Bukit Aman’s Internal Security and Public Order Department (Wildlife Crime Bureau and Special Investigations Intelligence), said his team regularly collaborates with other agencies to beef up operations related to wildlife enforcement, particularly at the nation’s borders and in cases of forest encroachment for poaching activities. Muhamad Azlin said one of their objectives is to strengthen enforcement through intelligence gathering, operations and special investigations into wildlife crimes to protect the nation’s national treasures and contribute to the conservation and preservation of biodiversity.
(Note: This story is part of the Macaranga Mentorship on Covering Wildlife Crime in Malaysia 2024, and is supported by Internews Earth Journalism Network.)