Ethnozoological and commercial drivers of the pangolin trade in Benin

Stanislas Zanvo,Bruno Djossa,Philippe Gaubert,Fortuné A Azihou,Brice Sinsin,Sylvestre C A M Djagoun

doi:10.1186/s13002-021-00446-z

Abstract

BackgroundPangolins are trafficked in unsustainable volumes to feed both local and global trade networks for their meat and the medicinal properties of their derivatives, including scales. We focus on a West African country (Benin) to assess the medicinal and spiritual values of pangolins among different ethnic groups and identify the cohort of buyers involved in the pangolin trade and related economic values along the chain, notably from local diasporas.MethodsWe organised 54 focus groups in villages surrounding occurrence habitats of pangolins across Benin and conducted 35 individual interviews with vendors from five major traditional medicine markets (TMMs). Our questionnaire addressed the different uses of pangolins, the commercial value of pangolin items, the categories of clients and the related selling prices.ResultsPangolin meat was strictly consumed as food. Scales, head, bones, tongue, blood, heart and xiphisternum were the items used by local communities as part of medicinal (65% of the focus groups) and spiritual (37%) practices. Scales were the most frequently used item (use value index = 1.56). A total of 42 medicinal and spiritual uses, covering 15 International Classification of Diseases (ICD) categories, were recorded among ethnic groups. The ICD and spiritual categories-based analyses of similarity showed a partial overlapping of ethnozoological knowledge across Benin, although knowledge was significantly influenced by ethnicity and geographic location. The pricing of pangolins both varied with the category of stakeholders (local communities vs. stakeholders of TMMs) and clients (local and West African clients vs. Chinese community) and the type of items sold. The Chinese community was reported to only buy pangolins alive, and average selling prices were 3–8 times higher than those to West African clients.ConclusionsOur results confirm that pangolins in Africa are valuable and versatile resources for consumption and medicinal / spiritual practices. The pangolin trade in Benin is based on an endogenous and complex network of actors that now appears influenced by the specific, high-valued demand from the Chinese diaspora. Further investigations are required to assess the growing impact of the Chinese demand on the African wildlife trade.

Highlights

Bushmeat—i.e. the wild game from the tropics—constitutes the main animal protein and income sources for rural people in sub-Saharan Africa [1]
The scales were the item of pangolins that had the highest use reported (56), number of International Classification of Diseases (ICD) categories (14) and use value
In Benin, we showed that the pricing of pangolins both varied with the category of stakeholders and clients and the type of items sold

Summary

Introduction

Bushmeat—i.e. the wild game from the tropics—constitutes the main animal protein and income sources for rural people in sub-Saharan Africa [1]. Bushmeat hunting stands among the prime income-generating activities in rural areas of tropical Africa, where the bushmeat trade can generate more than 500 USD per year for a single household hunter Bushmeat species play a vital role in traditional African medicine where animal-derived body parts (items) are used for the treatment of diseases, ailments and spiritual purposes Bushmeat consumption and use, which occur at unsustainable rates in Africa [9], have so far remained an intractable issue, contributing at the same time to household wealthiness and biodiversity extinction [10, 11]. Pangolins are trafficked in unsustainable volumes to feed both local and global trade networks for their meat and the medicinal properties of their derivatives, including scales. We focus on a West African country (Benin) to assess the medicinal and spiritual values of pangolins among different ethnic groups and identify the cohort of buyers involved in the pangolin trade and related economic values along the chain, notably from local diasporas

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion