THE Philippine
coast guard says it has found hundreds of frozen scaly anteaters, or pangolins,
in the cargo hold of a Chinese boat that ran aground in a protected marine
sanctuary last week.
Wildlife
officials have been informed of the surprising discovery, which could lead to
more charges for the 12 Chinese men arrested on charges including poaching
after their boat was stranded in Tubbataha Reef last week.
"We found
400 boxes containing anteaters aboard the vessel, and we are now determining
where these came from," coast guard spokesman Lieutenant Commander Armand
Balilo told AFP.
He could not
say whether the pangolins were frozen alive, or had already been butchered as
meat.
A protected
species, pangolins are widely hunted in parts of Asia
for their meat, skin and scales. In China
Boat filled
with endangered meat hits coral reef
MANILA,
Philippines (AP) — A Chinese vessel that ran into a
protected coral reef in the southwestern Philippines held evidence of
even more environmental destruction inside: more than 10,000 kilograms (22,000
pounds) of meat from an endangered species,
the pangolin or scaly anteater.
The vessel hit
an atoll on April 8 at the Tubbataha
National Marine
Park
The marine
park's lawyer, Adelina Villena, says the boat's 12 Chinese crewmen are
being detained on charges of poaching and attempted bribery.
The meat and
scales of the pangolin fetch hundreds of dollars per kilogram in China
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