KOTA KINABALU: Sabah is likely to take steps to fully protect Sunda pangolins amid a high demand for its meat.
The state is mulling over fully protecting the pangolin which is currently allowed to be hunted with licence under Schedule Two of the Sabah Wildlife Enactment 1997, said Sabah Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Masidi Manjun.
“If it is re-listed under the Enactments Schedule 1, then a complete ban on hunting can be enforced as it will become fully protected.
“It is high time for us to look into the status of the pangolin in the state and within the wildlife enactment,” he said.
There are growing concerns that over-hunting triggered by high demand might make the mammal extinct in Sabah.
The modus operandi of these groups involved in the trade is to process and treat pangolin as meat products, making it difficult to be detected when packaged properly.
Masidi said a few years ago, state wildlife rangers intercepted a consignment of five tonnes of pangolin meat in the Sandakan area.
Continue reading at: Move to fully protect Sunda pangolins in Sabah
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