stop the killing and consumption of pangolins in illegal wildlife trade

The impact of COVID-19 on the world at large is unprecedented. Thousands of lives have been lost and the virus has wreaked havoc on the economy and global trade.

As at 28 March 2020, there were over 30,419 deaths across the world, with more expected in places far removed from the virus source.

There were over 1,700 deaths in the United States. In Italy alone, the death toll has crossed 10,000, overwhelming morgues. Spain lost 832 lives in 24 hours, adding to a death toll of 5690 — Madrid had to turn an ice skating rink into a morgue.

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the illegal trade threatens public health worldwide

Pangolins are a suspected host for COVID-19 (also known as SARS-CoV-2), write scientists Lam, et al. (2020) in a report published in the prestigious “Nature” journal.

Their research — fast-tracked into publication in March to aid epidemiological research and the search for a vaccine or cure — identified cousins of COVID-19 or “SARS-CoV-2-related coronaviruses in Malayan pangolins (Manis javanica) seized in anti-smuggling operations in southern China”.

The researchers conclude: “pangolins should be considered as possible hosts in the emergence of novel coronaviruses and should be removed from wet markets to prevent zoonotic transmission“.

Although the findings were later disputed by Chinese scientists, the same Chinese team concluded that “Pangolin-CoV, was the second-closest relative of Sars-CoV-2 as the two viruses were 91.02 per cent identical”.

Whatever the origin of the virus, the World Bank writes that the illegal wildlife trade was likely the conduit through which COVID-19 carrying animals came into contact with humans.

How many more lives must be lost before we act?

View this post on Instagram

A very sad day at the office @wildaid . Repost @natural_history_museum The pangolin pit, by conservation photojournalist @paulhiltonphoto, shows the desperate story of the world's most trafficked mammal. It shows about 4,000 dead, frozen pangolins that were seized by Indonesian police. Poachers kill hundreds of thousands each year, largely because the hard scales covering their bodies are thought to be medicinal in some communities. Despite international laws protecting the pangolin, the killing continues. Click the link in our bio to find out more about the plight of the pangolin and the fight to save them: http://bit.ly/pangolin-day-20 #PangolinDay #Pangolin #Conservation #Biodiversity #WildlifePhotographerOfTheYear2016 #Photojournalism #NHMLondon #LondonMuseum #NaturalHistoryMuseumLondon

A post shared by Paul Hilton (@paulhiltonphoto) on Feb 15, 2020 at 4:07am PST

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Viruses and bacteria are spread because of human activities and we have seen this happen before.

In the case of COVID-19, human greed has exposed an otherwise elusive, nocturnal, burrowing, ant-eating animal into contact with humans — and other animals — with frightful consequences, say scientists. The New York Times reports:

We invade tropical forests and other wild landscapes, which harbor so many species of animals and plants — and within those creatures, so many unknown viruses. We cut the trees; we kill the animals or cage them and send them to markets. We disrupt ecosystems, and we shake viruses loose from their natural hosts. When that happens, they need a new host. Often, we are it.

WE MADE THE CORONAVIRUS EPIDEMIC, DAVID QUAMMEN, NEW YORK TIMES, 28 JANUARY 2020

Forest village trek at Thomson Nature Park

Date: SATURDAY 23 NOVEMBER 2019
Time: 9.00am to 11.30am
Cost: $13 per pax (adult or kid). Free for participants’ kids aged 6 years and below.
Location: Thomson Nature Park

Please note: This is an easy walk that goes on an uneven dirt path with sloping ground at certain spots, but do note that the return walking distance is between 4 to 5 km. If young kids are coming along, be prepared to carry them.

Walk Brief:

We explore the trails running through this newly opened nature park set in a former Hainanese village. The forest has taken over the remains of the village, but some of its ruins still exist, such as the spiral staircase of the house of the Fox family who were Eurasians who had lived there. Signage along the trails explain the nostalgic ‘kampong’ way of life. Fruit trees from past orchards persist, with rambutan, durian and jackfruit now enjoyed by the wildlife living there.

This park is a key conservation site for the critically endangered Banded Leaf Monkey, Singapore’s only other species of monkey. The Malayan Pangolin and Straw-headed Bulbul are two other globally endangered species who call this lush forest patch their home. And the forest streams here are crucial freshwater habitats for a diversity of damsel and dragonflies.

Hornbills and Hogs on Pulau Ubin

Date: SATURDAY 23 NOVEMBER 2019
Time: 5.00pm to 7.30pm
Cost: $13 per pax (adult or kid). Free for participants’ kids aged 6 years and below.
Location: Pulau Ubin

Walk brief:

We return to the lovely island of Pulau Ubin, this time to look for its famous resident hornbills and wild pigs. The Oriental Pied Hornbill is the only hornbill species still existing in the wilds of Singapore. Its other larger cousins, the Rhinoceros and Helmeted hornbills have both long gone extinct, as Singapore developed and its human population grew and spread. Hornbills have an incredible lifestyle. The female will imprison herself in a tree-hole nest for several months to take care of her eggs and chicks, with the male bringing food to them. As there are not many tall old trees with suitable holes, some nest boxes have been set up for them on Ubin.

Oriental Pied Hornbills live in large, loud family groups, so we’ll hear them before we’ll see them. The Wild Pig is the other iconic wildlife of Ubin. In the past, ‘wild boar’ meat was served at the food stalls on Ubin. It is now against the law to capture, kill or eat them. On Ubin, they roam the forests in search of fallen durian and rambutans. Many Ubin regulars still have fond memories of Priscilla, the piggy mascot at Chek Jawa who was always there during low tide on the mud flats. Our late afternoon to evening walk is timed to the hornbills about to go to bed while the pigs are just waking up from their afternoon siesta.

Please note: This is an easy walk that goes on the main roads and on uneven dirt trails. The return walking distance is about 3km.

Please note:

·         Please register by emailing participants’ name/s, ages of kids, phone number of contact participant, and the chosen activity, to Andrew at: andrewtay.sg@gmail.com

·         More details and instructions will be given upon registration

·         Please do inform if after registering you cannot come for the walk, so that your seat can be passed on to another person on the wait list.

·         We will only proceed with each walk if there is a minimum group size of 10 persons.

·         Payment in cash or cheque will be collected in person at the activity. Cheque to be made payable to: ‘Cicada Tree Eco-Place’

·         All kids must be accompanied by at least 1 adult guardian.

·         Kids get info-sheets and native wildlife stickers at our walks.