CAMBODIA: Price Of Pangolin Meat And Scales

In Cambodia, one of the most popular wildlife that was trafficked in 2013 was the pangolin. According to wildlife conservation officials, the meat of a pangolin is sold on the black market for $300 per kilogram. The pangolin’s scales, which is used for medicinal purposes, is sold for $3,000 per kilogram.

Across Asia, the average price to buy a pangolin for sale is $1,000.

In the first nine months of 2013, wildlife officials in Cambodia seized over 2,000 live animals and over 2,300 dead animals while arresting 125 wildlife traffickers. Back in 2001, officials were seizing around 4,400 live animals such as elephants, tigers and bears.

Experts state that the decline in seizures is caused because the population of those animals have been declining due to poaching.