'Noah's
Ark' of 5,000 rare animals found floating
off china,
bound for restaurants read chefs cooking
procedures
Jonathan
Watts in Beijing
The Guardian
Endangered,
hunted, smuggled and now abandoned, 5,000
of the world's rarest animals have been
found drifting in a deserted boat near the
coast of China.
The
pangolins, Asian giant turtles and lizards
were crushed inside crates on a rickety
wooden vessel that had lost engine power
off Qingzhou island in the southern province
of Guangdong. Most were alive, though the
cargo also contained 21 bear paws wrapped
in newspaper.
According
to conservation groups, the haul was discovered
on one of the world's most lucrative and
destructive smuggling routes: from the threatened
jungles of south-east Asia to the restaurant
tables of southern China. The animals were
found when local fishermen noticed a strange
smell emanating from the vessel, which did
not have any registration plates, on Tuesday,
the Guangzhou Daily reported.
When
coastguard officials boarded the 25-metre
craft, it was reportedly deserted and stripped
of identification papers. They found more
than 200 crates full of animals, many so
dehydrated in the tropical sun that they
were close to death.
The
animals - which weighed 13 tonnes - were
taken to port, doused with water and sent
to an animal welfare centre. "We have
received some animals," said an office
worker at the Guangdong Wild Animal Protection
Centre. "We are waiting to hear from
the authorities what we should do with them."
According
to the local media, the cargo included 31
pangolins, 44 leatherback turtles, 2,720
monitor lizards, 1,130 Brazilian turtles
as well as the bear paws. Photographs showed
other animals, including an Asian giant
turtle.
All
of these south-east Asian species are critically
endangered, banned from international trade
and yet openly sold in restaurants and markets
in China's southern province of Guangdong,
which is famous for its exotic cuisine.
The
accidental discovery highlights the negative
impact that the growing power of Chinese
consumption is having on global conservation
efforts.
According to wildlife groups, China is the
main market for illegally traded exotic
species, which are eaten or used in traditional
medicine. Pangolins are in great demand
because their meat is consider a delicacy
and their scales are thought to help mothers
breastfeed their babies.
As
a result of demand, the pangolin populations
of China, Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia have
been wiped out. With traders moving further
and further south, the animal is declining
even in its last habitats in Java, Sumatra
and the Malaysian peninsula. It is a similar
story for many species of turtle, tortoise,
frog and snake.
Despite
China's international commitments to get
to grips with this illicit activity, the
trade is booming. Border controls are lax,
and smugglers know that fines are usually
far lower than the potential rewards. As
a result, raids and seizures of banned products
occur regularly. One recent raid on a restaurant
in Guanghzou turned up 118 pangolins, 60kg
of snakes and 400kg of toads.
Traffic
- an organisation that monitors and tries
to prevent the smuggling of endangered species
- welcomed the fact that China's authorities
had reacted swiftly to rescue the animals
but said much more needs to be done to prevent
similar cases.
"Unfortunately, this is all too common.
This trade is a far bigger threat to these
species than habitat destruction,"
said Chris Shepherd, senior program officer
with Traffic Southeast Asia. "The vigilance
on the border has to be improved, cooperation
with source countries needs to be strengthened,
there should be better monitoring of dealers,
and the people violating the laws must be
penalised severely."
Despite
the ban on pangolins, many restaurants offer
their meat. The Chaoxing restaurant in Shenzhen
said yesterday that pangolin was available
but was only suitable for large dining parties.
"The animal is very big - about 10kg,"
said a waitress contacted by telephone.
"We serve it in hotpot. That is the
tastiest way."
According
to recent reports in the Chinese media,
the price of 1kg of pangolin served in Guangdong
or Yunnan is between 600 and 800 yuan per
kilogram (between £43 and £50).
A
Guangdong chef interviewed last year in
the Beijing Science and Technology Daily
described how to cook a pangolin.
"We
keep them alive in cages until the customer
makes an order. Then we hammer them unconscious,
cut their throats and drain the blood. It
is a slow death. We then boil them to remove
the scales. We cut the meat into small pieces
and use it to make a number of dishes, including
braised meat and soup. Usually the customers
take the blood home with them afterwards."
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