KOTA KINABALU: Sabah is speeding up the process of making pangolins a totally protected species amid the increasing number of cases of trafficking and hunting. He said the Wildlife Department was preparing the necessary documents to upgrade the protection status of pangolins to be submitted to the Sabah Cabinet. Sunda pangolins are the only species found in Sabah and are protected under Part 1 Schedule 2 of the Sabah Wildlife Conservation Enactment, allowing for them to be hunted with permits. In the International Union Conservation of Nature red list of threatened species, Sunda pangolins are on the critically endangered list. Last month, Sabah Customs Department officers seized eight tonnes of pangolin scales at the Sepanggar port here.

Source: The Star August 29, 2017 08:05 UTC