"UN wildlife officials have voted to ban trade in all eight species of Asian pangolins. The creature is prized for its meat and scales, which are used for medicinal purposes."

"The United Nation’s Convention on International Trade of Endangered Species (CITES) ruled today to ban all global trade of the pangolin, a scaly mammal that has been poached to the brink of extinction.

All eight species of Asian and African pangolin were approved for Appendix 1 protection, which bans all commercial cross-border movement of either the animal or parts of the animal except in "exceptional circumstances."

"Giving pangolins full protection under CITES will eliminate any question about legality of trade, making it harder for criminals to traffic them and increasing the consequences for those who do," Ginette Hemley of the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) told Reuters."

Rowena Lindsay reports for the Christian Science Monitor September 28, 2016. [2]