Police raid finds 650 "Critically Endangered" pangolin corpses frozen in an Indonesian house

Alessandra Kelley · Aug 26, 2016

Police raid finds 650 "Critically Endangered" pangolin corpses frozen in an Indonesian house

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/aug/26/indonesia-seizes-hundreds-of-frozen-pangolins
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-37196635

Indonesian authorities have seized more than 650 critically endangered pangolins found hidden in freezers and arrested a man for allegedly breaking wildlife protection laws, police said on Friday.

Police discovered the pangolins, known as “scaly anteaters”, when they raided a house in Jombang district on the main island of Java after local residents became suspicious about the large number of freezers in the property.

A total of 657 pangolins, which are consumed as a luxury dish in China and used in traditional medicine, were found wrapped in plastic and stored in five large freezers, East Java province police spokesman Raden Prabowo Argo Yuwono told AFP.

What gets me is that all the little creatures are curled up into balls, as if they were put in the freezers alive to freeze to death.

Haggis · Aug 26, 2016

Alessandra Kelley said:
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/aug/26/indonesia-seizes-hundreds-of-frozen-pangolins
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-37196635

What gets me is that all the little creatures are curled up into balls, as if they were put in the freezers alive to freeze to death.

I expect you're right.

Poor critters.

PorterStarrByrd · Aug 26, 2016

I hear there is a place like that for Chihuahuas near detroit

Roxxsmom · Aug 26, 2016

Awww man. That would make me sad with any animal, but 650 has to be a huge chunk of those left in the wild?

I met a biologist once who was served pangolin at a banquet when he made a trip to China. When he realized what the pork-like meat actually was, he expressed concern over it being from an endangered species, his host smiled proudly and said, "Yes. It's a very rare animal!"

I know it's wrong to judge other cultures' values (and am surely blind to many of my own culture's issues), but OMG that kind of thing pisses me off.

heza · Aug 26, 2016

Alessandra Kelley said:
What gets me is that all the little creatures are curled up into balls, as if they were put in the freezers alive to freeze to death.

Certainly not excusing anything about any of this. It's horrific, and I hope everyone involved is prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

But if it helps anyone sleep tonight, I'm going to chose to believe they were slaughtered and then vacuum-sealed that way to save space or because that's the way the body would naturally curve under pressure. I just can't really tolerate the other possibility.

regdog · Aug 27, 2016

The greatness of a nation can be judged by the way its animals are treated. - Mahatma Gandhi

Police raid finds 650 "Critically Endangered" pangolin corpses frozen in an Indonesian house

Alessandra Kelley

Sophipygian

Haggis

Evil, undead Chihuahua

PorterStarrByrd

nutruring tomorrows criminals today

Roxxsmom

Beastly Fido

heza

regdog

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