Illegal trade in pangolins might pose Covid-19 risk

A university in China says that pangolins could potentially be an intermediate host of the Covid-19 coronavirus. — StarGraphics

If we don’t care that the ongoing illegal trade in pangolins threatens their very existence, perhaps humankind will pay attention to a more self-interested reason to stop trafficking in these mammals: they are potentially an intermediary host for the Covid-19 virus.

All eight species of the pangolin are protected under Appendix 1 of Cites (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora), which means a complete ban on any kind of trade. However, this has not stopped increasing numbers of pangolins being poached for trade.