VOA慢速英语--尼日利亚成为非洲与亚洲非法交易穿山甲的中心

Nigeria Becomes Africa's Center for Illegal Pangolin Trade with Asia

In the Nigerian port of Lagos, customs agents open a shipping¹ container filled with scales from pangolins.

Pangolins are the only animal with scales, which helps protect their skin. The customs inspectors² store the tiny, bony scales with many others.

An adult pangolin can be about the size of a small rabbit or large dog. They climb trees at night to eat insects. Pangolins are the world’s most trafficked mammal. The animals are prized in Asia for their use in medicine.

Nigeria is now the main center for groups sending African pangolins to Asia, say police, non-governmental organizations and wildlife experts. They say open borders, poor law enforcement³, corruption⁴ and the large port have helped criminals in Nigeria control most of the African trade in pangolins.

In 2019, inspectors in Hong Kong and Singapore discovered three large shipments⁵ of pangolin scales weighing a combined 33.9 tons. Estimates⁶ of their value go up to $100 million.

All three shipments came from Nigeria.

The wildlife trade watchdog group TRAFFIC says less than 25 percent of major pangolin seizures⁷ passed through Nigeria in 2016. By 2018, that had jumped to almost 66 percent.

“Traffickers like Nigeria more than anywhere else ... they prefer to go there because it makes it easier for them to export,” said Eric Kaba Tah. He is with The Last Great Ape Organization, a wildlife law enforcement group in Cameroon.

“The situation for pangolins is becoming more and more serious and even more dangerous,” said Tah. He has helped fight the pangolin trade in Cameroon, which was once another main trafficking center.

Kenya, South Africa, Tanzania and Uganda all say they have pushed hard to stop the trade, so the pangolin traffickers have all gone to Nigeria.

Pangolin meat is considered a tasty treat in some Asian markets. The pangolin’s scales are dried, crushed⁸ into fine particles⁹, and put in medicines in China.

In countries such as China and Vietnam, demand for African pangolins has been growing as the number of Asian pangolins has fallen over the years. All four kinds of Asian pangolins are now endangered.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature considers all four African species¹⁰ of pangolins as vulnerable¹¹. All commercial trade in pangolins was banned in 2016.

“At the rate at which pangolins are being traded,” Ray Jansen said, in will take about 20 years until the animal dies out. Jansen is chairman of the African Pangolin Working Group in Pretoria.

Nigerian customs officials disagree with the idea their country has become a center for illegal pangolin trading. Assistant Comptroller Mutalib Sule argues that pangolin trafficking through the country is lessening¹².

“There is tight effort at the borders to ensure that such things do not come in again,” he told the Reuters news agency¹³.

Customs officials in Nigeria report that agents seized 927 kilograms of pangolin goods in 2016, and 402 kilograms in 2017. But in 2018, they seized 12.3 tons.

Experts say it is difficult to really understand the trade based on the seizures. Has trafficking increased? Or are customs agents just doing their jobs better?

But TRAFFIC’s Sone Nnoke said the number of seizures of pangolin products that pass through Nigeria means the country is now the center of the illegal trade.

Ray Jansen at the African Pangolin Working Group said seizures very likely only represent about 10 percent of the actual trade in pangolin scales. He believes the seizures in Nigeria are a concern.

TRAFFIC reports that the number of seizures this year is already two times as high as in 2018.

The economics¹⁴ of the illegal trade is clear. In Nigeria, a pangolin can sell for as little as $7. In China or Vietnam, the scales from one animal can sell for $250.

I’m Susan Shand.

Words in This Story

scale – n. one of many small thin, bony objects that cover the bodies of some animals

mammal – n. an animal that feeds milk to its young and that usually has hair covering most of its skin

watchdog – n. a person or organization that makes sure that companies or governments are not doing anything illegal or wrong

vulnerable – adj. open to attack, harm, or damage

commercial – adj. occupied with or involving business

1 shipping   

n.船运（发货，运输，乘船）

参考例句：

• We struck a bargain with an American shipping firm.我们和一家美国船运公司谈成了一笔生意。
• There's a shipping charge of ￡5 added to the price.价格之外另加五英镑运输费。

2 inspectors   

n.检查员( inspector的名词复数 )；（英国公共汽车或火车上的）查票员；（警察）巡官；检阅官

参考例句：

• They got into the school in the guise of inspectors. 他们假装成视察员进了学校。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Inspectors checked that there was adequate ventilation. 检查员已检查过，通风良好。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 enforcement   

n.实施, 执行

参考例句：

• MPs called for tougher enforcement of the existing laws on drugs. 下院议员呼籲加强现行毒品法律的执行力度。
• The court is ineffective because it lacks the necessary enforcement machinery. 法院效率低是因为缺乏必要的执行机制。

4 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

5 shipments   

船运，水运( shipment的名词复数 )； （从海路、陆路或空运的）一批货物

参考例句：

• The shipments are being expedited as much as possible. 装货速度在尽量加快。
• We received two shipments from Chicago. 我们收到从芝加哥运来的两船货物。

6 estimates   

估计

参考例句：

• Unofficial estimates put the figure at over two million. 非官方的估计数字为200万以上。
• We got estimates from three different contractors before accepting the lowest. 我们得到3个承包商的报价后，接受了最低的报价。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 seizures   

n.起获( seizure的名词复数 )；没收；充公；起获的赃物

参考例句：

• Seizures of illicit drugs have increased by 30% this year. 今年违禁药品的扣押增长了30%。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Other causes of unconsciousness predisposing to aspiration lung abscess are convulsive seizures. 造成吸入性肺脓肿昏迷的其他原因，有惊厥发作。 来自辞典例句

8 crushed   

a.压碎的，倒碎的

参考例句：

• The car was completely crushed under the truck. 小轿车被卡车压得完全变形了。
• The box was crushed when the car ran over it. 汽车辗过箱子时把它给压碎了。

9 particles   

微粒( particle的名词复数 )； 颗粒； 极少量； 小品词

参考例句：

• These small particles agglomerate together to form larger clusters. 这些颗粒聚结形成较大的团。
• The nucleus of an atom consists of neutrons, protons and other particles. 原子核由中子、质子和其他粒子构成。

10 species   

n.物种，种群

参考例句：

• Are we the only thinking species in the whole of creation?我们是万物中惟一有思想的物种吗？
• This species of bird now exists only in Africa.这种鸟现在只存在于非洲。

11 vulnerable   

adj.易受伤的，脆弱的，易受攻击的

参考例句：

• He volunteered to protect her as she looked so vulnerable.她看上去很脆弱，他就主动去保护她。
• The company is in an economically vulnerable position.该公司目前经济状况不稳定。

12 lessening   

减轻，减少，变小

参考例句：

• So however much he earned, she spent it, her demands growing and lessening with his income. 祥子挣多少，她花多少，她的要求随着他的钱涨落。 来自汉英文学 - 骆驼祥子
• The talks have resulted in a lessening of suspicion. 谈话消减了彼此的怀疑。

13 agency   

n.经办；代理；代理处

参考例句：

• This disease is spread through the agency of insects.这种疾病是通过昆虫媒介传播的。
• He spoke in the person of Xinhua News Agency.他代表新华社讲话。

14 economics   

n.经济学，经济情况

参考例句：

• He is studying economics,which subject is very important.他正在学习经济学，该学科是很重要的。
• One can't separate politics from economics.不能把政治与经济割裂开来。