China's recent efforts to protect one of the world's most poached animals from the brink of extinction -- pangolins -- by removing it from the list of traditional Chinese medicines have been welcomed, but wildlife advocates say that trading will continue in illegal wildlife markers if eating behaviours remain unchanged.
After reports linked the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic to a wildlife market in Wuhan, the Chinese government decided to announce the closure of all wildlife markets in the country. This month, Beijing also upgraded its native pangolins, in particular the Chinese pangolin (Manis pentadactyla), into a Class I species, which accords the animal the highest level of protection under its laws.
Beijing has also promised to hold extra patrols to prevent poaching, restore pangolin habitats and take action against illegal trading and consumption of pangolins and their products.
While the move is welcomed by activists, the director of Wildlife Conservation Society Thailand, Anak Pattanavibool, said it will take a lot of time and effort to create change at the grassroots level.
"It is difficult to change people's beliefs. Demand is still high in the black markets," he said, pointing out more effort needs to be made to educate the public.
Mr Anak cited the example of rhinoceros horns and tiger bones, which have also been removed from the list of traditional Chinese medicine ingredients. He said there is enough demand and profit to be made in underground markets in China for poachers to continue hunting the protected animals.
He said it is important to strengthen wildlife patrols to protect the species with campaigns to change people's beliefs and habits.
Last year, he added, border patrol officers from Tak's Mae Sot district confiscated 90 pangolins from Myanmar destined for China via Laos.
Smugglers often use flights to enter Laos before heading to China. They have been known to use sea routes to transport pangolins from Malaysia or Indonesia to China via Vietnam, bypassing Thailand.
Despite China banning the import of pangolin products in 2018, the trade continued with large shipments regularly intercepted on their way to the country. It has been estimated that wildlife trade in China is worth over US$73 billion (2.2 trillion baht).
In 2017, Thai authorities confiscated a record 2.9 tonnes of pangolin scales bound for Laos, which came from Congo via Turkey.
Pangolin is listed under the Appendix I under CITES, which means its trade is banned due to the high risk of extinction.
Varawut Silpa-archa, Minister of Natural Resources and Environment, said he appreciated the Chinese government's action, adding the ministry is working with state agencies to suppress all illegal wildlife crimes in Thailand.
According to wildlife trade monitoring network TRAFFIC, an estimated 895,000 pangolins were transported globally between 2000-2019.