Due to the mass hunting and trafficking of pangolins, the US Fish and Wildlife Service decided to classify them as an endangered species this Monday. This act will prohibit the trade and hunting of pangolins, as well as fund programs to restore their habitats and population.

Pangolins, colloquially called “scaly anteaters”, look just like what the name suggests: an anteater covered completely with scales that mimic the appearance of a pine cone. However, those scales are the main cause of their endangered status today: they have been widely used in traditional Chinese medicine for millennia, even though modern science can’t prove their medical value. Additionally, their scales are also used to make various fashion items like bags and shoes.

These animals are commonly found in West Africa and Asia, and most species are nocturnal and insectivorous. However, this is a huge disadvantage, because as they don’t really need to see much at night, pangolins usually have poor eyesight. Due to this trait, they can easily walk into traps set up by hunters. Besides that, they also tend to coil their bodies into a ring when provoked, letting hunters just easily scoop them up and put them in a cage.

Legal trade of pangolins has been on the decline since an international convention in 2017, but illegal trade is still on the rise. This new “listing pangolins as endangered” act would fund security tightening and prosecution of smugglers in pangolin-dense countries, as well as completely restricting the buying and selling of pangolins in the US. This new listing would also provide financial assistance for recovery programs in countries with high populations of pangolins.

From today, there will be a 60-day comment period before this act goes into effect.