Kung fu Jackie Chan star aims a blow at pangolin poachers

One of the world's oldest species of mammal is facing the threat of extinction, but just one small word might save it - "No."

That's the message from movie star Jackie Chan in the latest Wild-Aid campaign video designed to stop people eating or buying pangolin products.

Jackie Chan fronts WildAid campaign to keep an endangered species off the menu.[Photo: Liu Wei and Luan Xiang of Xinhua China Features report]

Coming hot on the heels of similar campaigns against the consumption of shark fin, bear bile or tiger bones fueled by antiquated superstitions, the action hero appeared across China last month to raise awareness on the need to protect this endangered species.

In the video, he tries to teach a group of pangolins some martial arts moves, only to find that the toothless, timid animals only know how to curl up into a ball, making themselves vulnerable to poachers.

"The pangolins cannot defend themselves. It is up to us to take action to save them," Chan says.

The video was jointly produced by WildAid, the Nature Conservancy and the China Wildlife Protection Association, and is being broadcast at home and abroad via the China News Network.

Chan says in the video he hopes more people, especially children, will learn about these helpless animals and join the mission to save them.

"When I was a young boy, I practiced kung fu and got injured often," he says. "I was told then that using medicine made of tiger bones would cure me. Only when I grew up did I realize that it was all a lie.

"We should teach our children not to eat, use or buy pangolin products from an early age. Hopefully, future generations will have the chance to coexist with pangolins."

The action star, who is a wildlife protection ambassador, later told Xinhua News Agency that his next movie will focus on fighting wildlife trafficking, and he will almost certainly include pangolin protection in the story.

Is it too late?

Pangolins represent 70 million years of unique evolution.

These quiet, solitary, nocturnal creatures feed on ants and termites. Their bodies are covered by an armor of large keratin scales, which, according to an old wives' tale, can help new mothers produce breast milk or alleviate asthma. The animal's meat is also often consumed in Asia as a delicacy.

Although research has proved pangolin scales are no different to human fingernails in composition and their meat is considered unsafe because it eludes quality inspections, these animals have been slaughtered to near extinction in Asia and Africa.

Their natural habitats have also been seriously reduced by deforestation.

One pangolin produces a litter of one to three offspring, which are nurtured for about two years. The low breeding rate stands in stark contrast to the enormous quantities seized for international smuggling, and the animal is listed as one of the world's most trafficked mammals by the World Wildlife Fund.

It is estimated that 100,000 pangolins are captured every year in Africa and Asia. As a result, all eight species of pangolin feature on the International Union for the Conservation of Nature's "red list" of animals threatened with extinction. Four Asian species are classified as critically endangered, while four African species are classified as vulnerable.

According to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna, commonly known as CITES, the number of pangolins in China has fallen by 90 percent over the past 21 years. It is estimated the country may have significantly fewer pangolins than giant pandas.

In the past decade, over 1 million pangolins were illegally trafficked worldwide, according to estimates by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature.

Last year, the 17th CITES Congress adopted a proposal that all eight pangolin species be elevated from Appendix II to Appendix I, which effectively bans all international trade of pangolins and their products.

China has placed the animals under the second-highest level of national protection, and they could soon be promoted to the highest level. On Dec 27, customs officials in Shanghai seized 3.1 metric tons of pangolin scales, equivalent to up to 7,000 dead pangolins, while Hong Kong customs officers seized 7.2 tons of suspected pangolin scale products early this year.

A wider aim

"A pangolin of about 3 kilograms can protect about 100 hectares of forest from termite damage," said Zhao Peng, director of the Nature Conservatory's China program. "To protect this endangered species is to protect the ecosystem."

The protection of wild fauna and flora constitutes a prominent part of the nation's development strategy, added Li Qingwen, secretary-general of the China Wildlife Conservation Association.

Since 2000, the association, which is part of the State Forestry Administration, has supported or conducted a series of scientific investigations into the status of pangolins, as well as poaching and trafficking. This has provided a solid foundation for government legislation and law enforcement.

The battle against wildlife poaching and smuggling is already bearing fruit, according to Peter Knights, founder and executive director of WildAid.

Since 1995, the organization has been working with Chan to raise awareness of endangered species worldwide. Under the slogan "When the buying stops, the killing can too", WildAid has gained global support.

Shark fin consumption has plummeted in the past three years, with China's shark fin imports falling by 81 percent, Knights said. A total ban on ivory processing and sales in China will be effective from the end of the year, a move that has been widely praised by the international community, he added.

With more stringent legislation and law enforcement, the ivory smuggled into the country last year fell by 80 percent, while ivory prices on the black market in Kenya and other African countries fell by more than 60 percent, resulting in a 75 percent decrease in elephant poaching.

Similarly, underground prices for rhinoceros horn are about a third of what they once were, according to Knights.

"This is the result of the joint efforts made by Chinese government agencies and their partners, and we hope that such efforts will have the same effect in protecting the pangolins," he said. "We are very grateful to the General Administration of Customs for its great contribution in combating the illegal trade of pangolins and other wild species."

Knights is now calling on all countries to strengthen legislation and to fight pangolin poaching and public consumption with stronger law enforcement at the international level.