https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/3009183/chinese-forestry-dep
artment-sued-failing-save-smuggled-pangolins

– Environmental NGO files lawsuit against Guangxi regional bodies accusing
them of failing to look after endangered animals properly after rescuing
them
– Pangolins are among the world’s most trafficked mammals because of the
demand for their scales in traditional Chinese medicine

Alice Yan
South China Morning Post
Published: 3:50pm, 7 May, 2019

In the first lawsuit of its kind, a Chinese forestry authority has been sued
for failing to save a group of smuggled pangolins.
The forestry department in Guangxi and its terrestrial wild animals rescue
centre are accused of dereliction of duty in relation to the deaths of 32
pangolins two years ago, a court in Nanning, the region’s capital, heard on
Monday.

The case, filed by Beijing-based non-governmental organisation the China
Biodiversity Conservation and Green Development Foundation,is the first
public welfare lawsuit in China involving the endangered animals, according
to The Beijing News.

Pangolins are among the world’s most trafficked mammals and China is the
most common destination for large shipments of pangolins because their
scales are valued as ingredients in traditional medicine, their meat is
considered a luxury food item and their blood is used as a healing tonic.

The foundation said that when the Guangxi rescue centre received the live
pangolins that police seized from smugglers in August 2017, it offered to
help treat the mammals, but the offer was rejected.

The pangolins all died within 66 days. The foundation wants the two
defendants to pay compensation for the ecological losses caused by the death
of the animals and to apologise for their mistake in state media. It is
asking the court to evaluate the scale of ecological losses.

The court has yet to hand down a decision.

Zhang Zhenqiu, deputy director of the forestry department’s protection
section, told the newspaper that the accusation that it had failed to
protect the pangolins was just “hype” because they were difficult to look
after.

The authority said the pangolins died because of they had low immunity and
were stressed by the long journey from being trafficked from Vietnam.

Many had digestive system illnesses as a result of being force-fed by the
smugglers and some had serious injuries.

In February, 130 pangolins intercepted by Guangxi police from smugglers all
died soon after they were sent to two breeding bases – one in Guangxi and
one in Guangdong province.