A man was arrested in Hazyview, Mpumalanga, for being in possession of a pangolin, following a tip-off from a resident.

On Tuesday, a private game reserve near Hazyview received the tip-off that the driver of a white Bantam bakkie was driving around town looking for a buyer for the pangolin, which is the world’s most trafficked animal species.

The reserve alerted local security companies and Hazyview SAPS who made the arrest opposite the Sasol garage as you enter Hazyview from White River.

Some game reserves in the Lowveld have reported an increase in pangolin numbers in the last two years and this may be partly attributed to the arrests and convictions of rhino poachers who also traffic in other protected species.

The eight species of pangolin found in Africa and Asia are red-listed as ‘threatened’ by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), though they have become critically endangered in some areas across southern Africa.

New data from TRAFFIC confirms that at least 23.5 tonnes of pangolins and their body parts were trafficked in 2021, despite the Chinese government banning the use of pangolin scales in traditional medicine in 2020.

Last year the Pretoria Magistrate’s Court sentenced a man, who was found in possession of a pangolin, to 10 years behind bars, sending a clear signal to would-be traffickers: Leave our protected species alone.