Custom Officials Save More than 100 Endangered Pangolins

Since 2000, Pangolins - scaly, Asian creatures - have been considered illegal to trade. On their way to being smuggled from Indonesia to Malaysia to southwest China, a stop by customs officials saved more than 100 of these creatures. They had been trapped in the Indonesian jungle and were to be transported to China where they were to be supper for the Chinese. They consider pangolins to be a delicacy. They use their scales for treating certain kinds of ailments. According to their legend the scales can cure many illnesses.

Three men were arrested and charged with smuggling the endangered mammals. They declined to say who had paid them to trap and transport the pangolins. Making their journey in three pick up trucks under piles of coconuts the pangolins were intercepted and the Royal Forest Department will assume custody until the pangolins can be released into a habitat in Thailand.

The men were charged with 2 counts of possessing and smuggling wildlife that is on the endangered list. Their maximum punishment could be up to 10 years in jail. It is believed that thousands of these mammals are smuggled illegally every year to end up as dinner in China. The scales would have been crushed to use in Chinese medicines.

Reminiscent of the way elephants were treated when they were being hunted for their tusks, the pangolins are another in a long line of animals that are expected to sacrifice their lives for human gain. Monkeys used to be hunted and taken to sell for entertainment. How many animals are trapped each year to be used in research? It is not limited to animals in the wild. Pets have been disappearing for years to end up being used for research, dog fighting, puppy mills, and who knows what else.

This is just one more instance of the greed that rules our lives and at the expense of the innocent. So many animals are on the endangered list due to the greed of man. Why can't we learn to live and let live. If someone has something we want, the extremes that we will go to for obtaining it is absurd. It is not restricted to animals. The senseless killing of humans is often times due to their having something that someone else wanted. A man was murdered, tortured by another in some of the most inhumane ways a person can be. The man was barely above being homeless. When officers asked why, they were told, "He had stuff I wanted."

What has become of us? What will continue to become of us? We are supposed to be the intelligent race. Why do we torture, rape, murder and brutalize every living thing for our own gain?

Sources:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20071110/sc_afp/thailandindonesiamalaysiachinawildlife_071110190314