PCGN to hold conference to mark 2023 World Pangolin Day

The Pangolin Conservation Guild Nigeria (PCGN) will be holding a Symposium to mark the 2023 World Pangolin Day.

The Symposium which is scheduled to hold on February 18, 2023, at the Zoology Lecture Theatre, University of Ibadan, will have in attendance professionals working in conservation, researchers, scientists, government officials, law enforcement agents, community stakeholders, students and the international community among others.

As part of activities to mark the 2023 World Pangolin Day, several programs have been scheduled alongside the Symposium.

The event themed ‘Communities Leading Pangolin Conservation – Uniting Against the Extinction of Pangolins’ will have the following speakers; Abimbola Animashaun, officer in charge of Nigeria Customs Service Special Wildlife Office; Elijah Nelson Udofia, Southwest zonal director NESREA;Joseph Kruzich, public affairs officer, US Consulate General, Lagos and some important dignatories as panelists.

Olajumoke Morenikeji, a professor, host and chair of PCGN, states that it will be an educational fun filled program in celebration of the world’s most trafficked mammal.

Yearly, on the third Saturday in February, World Pangolin Day is marked to raise awareness about the mammal, the grave challenges they face, and the heroic efforts being made to keep them from extinction.

Read also: PCGN seeks community participation in pangolin protection

The pangolin, which curls up into a ball when frightened, is the world’s most trafficked wild mammal and Nigeria has been identified as the hub of African pangolin smuggling to Asian markets.

The mammal is in high demand because it is believed to treat many ailments and diseases while serving as a delicacy in Africa and Asia.

The insatiable appetite for pangolin meat and parts has led scientists to believe that pangolin is being poached every five minutes, an entirely unsustainable speed, resulting in pangolin species being listed as vulnerable, endangered, or critically endangered on the IUCN Red List.

Globally, there are eight species of pangolins; four in Asia, and another four in Africa. The giant pangolin – Smutsia gigantea; tree pangolin – Phataginus tricuspis, and long-tailed pangolin – Phataginus tetradactyla species are found in Nigeria.