China declares 'National Level-I' protection for Pangolins after suspected COVID-19 link

China has reportedly imposed the ‘National Level-I’ for the pangolin like that of the ‘giant pandas’ which are endangered. The decision comes after the country suspected the Pangolins to be the intermediate host of the COVID-19 disease. The world’s most trafficked animal, Pangolin, is used in traditional Chinese medicines to promote lactation and cure impotence. 

As per local media reports, earlier, the Chinese had suspected the snake and the bat as the host for the spread of the novel coronavirus. However, the Chinese scientists now believed that the pangolin has been the animal behind the malignant disease’s outbreak. The strain of the virus that caused the global health emergency originated in the Huanan seafood wholesale market in Wuhan.  

Earlier, China had announced an upgrade for the protection of the species to ‘highest level’ from second-class considering that over one million pangolins are estimated to have been poached since the last decade, as per reports. Further, at least 20 tonnes of pangolin meat and their parts are trafficked internationally every year, according to the wildlife trade monitoring network Traffic. Therefore, the Chinese authorities had decided to upscale the animals’ conservation, and in the latest, the first-class protection like the giant pandas, Tibetan antelopes, and red-crowned cranes has been declared. 

Read: Pompeo Blasts China Over 'callous Attempts' To Exploit George Floyd's Tragic Death

Read: 'No Grey Zone About LAC On India's Side': Lt Gen DS Hooda On India-China Standoff

99 per cent genetic match to 'human' coronavirus

A few weeks ago, Chinese scientists identified on the basis of genetic analyses, that the scaly, ant-eating pangolin was the prime suspect for the spread of the COVID-19 disease that originated in the Wuhan City, as per the reports. Scientists suspected that the pathogen was transmitted to people from the animal, as is the case with other coronaviruses, that caused severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS). Researchers at the South China Agricultural University in Guangzhou suggested that smuggled pangolins were the animal source of coronavirus at a press conference, adding, it was a 99 per cent genetic match to the virus that has impacted people.  

Read: China Urges Citizens To Shun Australia As Dispute Simmers

Read: Case Registered Against China's Vivo For Running Over 13500 Smartphones With Same IMEI

(Graphic: Current biology Journal)