Wild Africa Fund, others spearhead campaign for pangolins’ protection in Nigeria

Wild Africa Fund says that Nigeria’s leading personalities are spearheading a campaign for the protection of pangolins through reduction in consumption of bushmeat.

The fund said celebrities from the realms of music, comedy, sports, and business had also spoken against the use of Nigeria as an export hub for trafficking pangolin scales.

Nigeria’s representative of Wild Africa Fund, Mr Festus Iyorah, said this in a statement on Saturday in Lagos.

Iyorah said the campaign, spearheaded by Wild Africa Fund and supported by Nigerian media organisations, brought together renowned Nigerian personalities including 2Face, Davido, Ali Baba, Emanuella, Alex Iwobi, Josh2Funny, among others.

He added that the celebrities had committed their voices and influence to amplify the escalating threats posed by the illegal wildlife trade, particularly on pangolins.

“By leveraging the power of public figures and the influence they wield, this campaign aims to turn the tide for pangolins and make Nigeria a regional leader in fighting wildlife crime,” Iyorah said.

He said pangolins were the most trafficked mammals in the world, partly because their scales were in great demand for use in traditional medicine in Asia.

He noted that as pangolin population in Asia had declined, shipments from Africa had greatly increased to meet soaring demand.

Quoting statistics from the Wildlife Justice Commission, Iyorah said 55 per cent of pangolin scale seizures worldwide made between 2016 and 2019 were linked to Nigeria.

He said a recent survey of 1,000 Nigerians conducted by Lagos-based Market Surveys International found that 88 per cent were aware of Wild Africa Fund’s campaign with 97 per cent of people aged 10-17 years reporting that they remembered the campaign.

He said the survey showed that 86 per cent said they would no longer kill or consume pangolins because of the campaign, and 31 per cent said they have stopped consuming bushmeat.

He added that 91 per cent signified their intention to substitute bushmeat with other sources of protein like chicken, fish, and meat from goat, cattle and turkey.

Iyorah said the impact and reach of the campaign could be attributed to several factors, including increased coverage of wildlife issues by Nigerian news organisations, Wild Africa Fund’s widely-seen public service announcements featuring Nigerian celebrities.

He also listed several other engaging content like Dr. Mark’s Animal Show, which targets kids and teenagers and has been broadcast by several TV channels in Nigeria, including Silverbird TV, StarTimes, and Teen Africa TV.

He quoted the Founder and CEO of Wild Africa Fund, Peter Knights OBE, as saying:

“Once aware of the issues, leading Nigerians and media icons have been incredibly supportive of better wildlife protection and we truly believe the country can lead the region in safeguarding pangolins and other endangered wildlife.” (NAN)