Protect Pangolins, beneficial for humans and nature

Pangolins are cute, scaly animals that are thought to be the most illegally traded mammals in the world. Even though pangolins live in Africa and Asia, the law allows the U.S. to protect animals from other countries. The plan to protect pangolins was introduced by conservation groups. However, this plan came out at a time when the Trump administration was trying to weaken environmental protections. If approved, the protection would ban importing, exporting, hunting, and selling pangolins. It could also provide money to help protect pangolins in their home countries, but recent budget cuts may stop that support. According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the illegal sale of pangolins often helps fund major crimes like drug and weapons trafficking. Conservationists (people who work to protect nature), say that pangolins are in so much danger that it would be wrong not to protect them in nature. One type of pangolin is already protected under U.S. law, and this new plan would add the other seven endangered major species.

Pangolins curl into a ball when they feel scared, which helps protects them from predators but makes them easy for people to catch. Their population is quickly shrinking due to habitat loss, weak genetic health, and illegal trade. People hunt Pangolins for the valuable scales used in Chinese medicine. China is slowly removing pangolin scales from approved medicines, but they are still not banned. Selling pangolins internationally is prohibited under an agreement called CITES. The U.S. plan would make the rules tougher by closing a gap that still lets people sell old pangolin parts. It would also send a strong message to China, which still has a strong market for pangolin scales.

In the 1970s, the U.S. listed one African pangolin, the Temminck’s ground pangolin, as endangered. Since 2014, experts from the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) have said that all eight main pangolin species are in danger of becoming extinct. Two are labeled vulnerable, three are endangered, and three are critically endangered. Pangolins are very beneficial to us because they are nature’s pest control, help soil health, and balance out the food chain. Pangolins help control insect populations that could damage crops, trees, and homes. They also prey on bigger predators in the food chain, such as big cats, balancing everything out. When they dig for food, pangolins turn over the soil, like natural plows.

In conclusion, pangolins help keep ecosystems healthy, control pests, and bring attention to conservation issues. Saving them benefits both nature and people.