The Chinese fisherman who ran aground at Tubbataha Reef near Palawan recently may face wildlife trafficking charges for the roughly 2,000 illegal frozen pangolin carcasses that were found in their boat.
The 12 fisherman are already facing charged of poaching, illegal entry, and bribery. Now they’ll probably face more serious charges for trafficking pangolins, endangered scaly anteaters that are prized in China for their meat, skin, and scales.
The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) – Philippines said the full force of the Philippine Wildlife Act should be applied if it is proven that the pangolins were being smuggled out of Palawan.
“It is simply deplorable that they appear to be posing as fishermen to trade in illegal wildlife. Should the carcasses check out as Philippine pangolin (Manis culionensis), we can be sure they were being smuggled out of Palawan. In which case, the full force of the Philippine Wildlife Act should be applied,” the WWF-Philippines said.
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Photos: Friends of Tubbataha Facebook Page
