Inside dark, impenetrable world of illicit trade in wildlife trophy

Apart from the pangolins, rhino and elephant trophies still drive the illicit-but-profitable trade in wildlife products. [Courtesy]

On Monday, March 15, 2021, a rare animal made an ‘appearance’ in Narok Law Courts, some 100km west of Nairobi. It was a pangolin, a nocturnal animal whose 20 per cent of the body is made up of scales.

Apart from the three men charged with dealing in the animal and the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) crew that airlifted the scaly creature from Empaash in Rift Valley to the law courts, few in attendance knew what the reclusive animal looked like. Even researchers have little knowledge about the pangolins’ behaviour.

Yet, the pangolin is now the world’s most trafficked animal, with claims the scales promote blood circulation and increase lactation in pregnant women, while the meat is used as a tonic.