By Olivia Miwil - April 4, 2022 @ 12:16pm
KOTA KINABALU: A restaurateur here has forked out his own money to rescue a pangolin from a poacher.
On Saturday about 1pm, the KK Beaufort Restaurant owner Vincent Heng said he received an anonymous phone call offering to sell the mammal.
The poacher had told him that the pangolin was captured during a hunting expedition either at Kimanis or Papar areas.
"I am not sure how he got my number, probably through our Facebook page as we are aggressively advertising our restaurant.
"Poachers usually will call Chinese restaurants as they know that some would serve it, but I don't as I know it is prohibited and sinful. So much so, I love the wildlife and forests.
"Knowing that the pangolin is still small, with a weight of about 2 kilogrammes, I negotiated with the seller for a discounted price of RM200," he said, adding that the pangolin appeared weak when he received it at about 4pm and he handed it to the Sabah Wildlife Rescue Unit on the same day.
It was his first time seeing the protected animal closely, adding that he had been approached several times by poachers trying to sell the shy, harmless pangolins.
Heng said poachers would usually call restaurants and sell the pangolins to the highest bidders.
"The sale of pangolins is still rampant as they are rare and some believe the mammal has medicinal value.
"Despite knowing that the pangolins are protected species, some restaurants are still buying them especially if they have regular customers who eat pangolins."
Meanwhile, Sabah Wildlife Department director Augustine Tuuga said the wildlife rescue unit had treated the animal at the clinic.
He added that the pangolin was active and responsive after being treated and given food.
Comments
Post a Comment