Record $48.6 million shipment of elephant ivory and pangolin scales intercepted in Singapore
Singapore Customs and the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority said that it seized around 10 tons of elephant ivory and 12 tons of pangolin scales.
According to The Associated Press, the scales came from about 2,000 of the giant pangolins, which resemble an anteater covered in plated armor made of keratin.
The AP also reported that the tusks likely came from nearly 300 African elephants.
The pangolin scales were valued at $35.7 million and the tusks at $12.9 million, the AP reported.
Both species are endangered.
Before 2000, the United States was a major importer of pangolin skins, which were used to make exotic leather cowboy boots, belts, and wallets https://t.co/7KP6HQOXam
— National Geographic (@NatGeo) July 24, 2019
The International Union for Conservation of Nature considers six of the eight pangolin species to be “threatened with extinction,” while the other two are “critically endangered.” The African elephant, which is poached solely for its tusks, is listed as “vulnerable.”
The pangolin is believed to be the most illegally trafficked mammal on the planet.
ABC News reports that the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species banned international trade for all eight species in 2016.
Two days earlier, the authority picked off 13.1 tons of pangolin scales that were reportedly headed to Vietnam.
12 tonnes of scales from c2,000 #Pangolins, world's most trafficked animal, seized with 600 Elephant tusks, adding to 25 ton of Pangolin scales already since April in Singapore alone. See why Pangolins are so great in this beautiful documentary https://t.co/zcTf3yM2rw pic.twitter.com/xBWtNBwImk
— Dick Filby (@DickFilby) July 24, 2019
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