Seized
pangolins are held in plastic crates in Medan city on July 31,
2012 (AFP/File)
|
HANOI —
Vietnamese customs officials said Wednesday they had found more than six tonnes
of live protected pangolins inside a shipping container sent from Indonesia.
The rare
creatures -- known as "scaly anteaters" for their unusual appearance
and prized in China and Vietnam as an exotic meal -- were discovered last week
during an inspection at the northern port of Hai Phong, a customs official told
AFP, declining to provide further details.
The
container, which was due to be shipped onwards to an undisclosed final
destination, provided documents claiming it contained frozen fish, fins and
fish bones, according to a report on the Vietnamese government's website.
Authorities
have not specified what will happen to the pangolins.
Naomi Doak
of wildlife trade monitoring network TRAFFIC estimated there were several
hundred of the mammals in last week's haul and told AFP there were no rescue
centres in Vietnam equipped to deal with such large numbers.
"They're
hard to keep in captivity and feed, they only eat termites... my guess is
they'll be killed and sold," she said.
Since the
start of the year, more than 10 tonnes of pangolin -- both live and frozen --
have been confiscated at Hai Phong port, the government report said.
Authorities
have also seized 1.2 tonnes of pangolin scales -- which are sought after in
traditional Vietnamese and Chinese medicine as a remedy for allergies and to
help male potency.
The small
mammals are nearly entirely covered with scales, made of keratin -- the same
protein that makes up human hair.
Pangolins
sell for between eight to ten million dong ($380 - $480) per kilogram at restaurants
in Vietnam, according to state media reports.
Trade in
pangolins is banned by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered
Species (CITES).
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