Malaysian Wildlife Dept seizes pangolins

The New Straits Times 9 Sep 09;

KOTA BARU: Nearly 100 live pangolins were saved from the cooking pots in Thailand by the state Wildlife Department on Monday.

The 93 pangolins, packed in individual plastic boxes and worth about RM70,000, were seized around noon in Kampung Cherang, Bachok.

The department had received a tip-off, said director Pazil Abdul Patah, and an enforcement team found a man loading the pangolins into a car. But he took off on foot when he spotted the officers.

The animals weighed three to 12kg each, and with restaurants in Thailand paying RM150 per kg, the suspect would have made a tidy profit. Pazil said the seizure was the biggest made so far this year. The animals will soon be released in a national park.

Pangolins are protected under the Wildlife Act, but their meat is considered a delicacy.