Eight Million

Vietnam is the world’s second largest destination for the illegal trade in pangolins after China. The Southeast Asian country is also a major transit hub for trafficking of the endangered mammal into China. And yet, there is very little awareness of this issue within Vietnam, and despite numerous seizures of pangolins and pangolin parts, there are few prosecutions. In Malaysia too, loopholes in wildlife protection laws have allowed a thriving online marketplace in exotic pets to develop – it’s not hard to find someone who’ll sell you a pangolin should you want one for your Instagram feed. But there’s an even more serious problem facing the pangolins, which used to be common in Malaysia’s forests – and habitat destruction isn’t just a problem for pangolins – it’s a problem for all of us. Guests:Trang Bui, The Pangolin ReportsXu Jiaming, The Pangolin ReportsElroi Yee, R.AGEDr Xavier Jayakumar, Malaysian Ministry of Water, Land and Natural Resources Further Listening and Reading:Pangolin trad