China has removed pangolin parts from its official list of traditional medicines, state media reported Tuesday, days after increasing legal protections on the endangered animal.

Pangolins were left out of the official Chinese Pharmacopoeia this year, along with substances including a pill formulated with bat faeces, the state-owned Health Times reported.

The pangolin, the world's most heavily trafficked mammal, is thought by some scientists to be the possible host of the novel coronavirus that emerged at a market in China's Wuhan city last year.

Its body parts fetch a high price on the black market as they are commonly used in traditional Chinese medicine, although scientists say they have no therapeutic value.

China's forestry authority on Friday gave pangolins the highest level of protection in the country due to its threatened status.

"Depleted wild resources" are being withdrawn from the Pharmacopoeia, Health Times reported, although the exact reason for the removal of pangolins was unclear.

China has in recent months banned the sale of wild animals for food, citing the risk of diseases spreading to humans, but the trade remains legal for other purposes -- including research and traditional medicine.

The World Wide Fund for Nature on Saturday said it "strongly welcomed" China's move to upgrade protections for the pangolin, calling it an "important respite" from the illegal pangolin trade.

Related Links
Darwin Today At TerraDaily.com

Tweet

Thanks for being here; We need your help. The Space Media Network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain. With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords. Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year. If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceMediaNetwork Contributor $5 Billed Once credit card or paypal		SpaceMediaNetwork Monthly Supporter $5 Billed Monthly paypal only

India arrests man over shocking death of elephant
New Delhi (AFP) June 6, 2020
Indian police have arrested a plantation worker and are hunting two others after a pregnant elephant died after eating fruit laced with explosives, officials said Saturday, in a case that shocked the country. The elephant died in agony last week in the southern state of Kerala, the latest casualty of a growing conflict in South Asia between nature and humans as ever more forest is lost to urban expansion. Footage of the animal standing in a river for hours with its badly injured mouth and trunk ... read more