Seized logbooks from a wildlife trafficking syndicate show it killed and trafficked 22,200 pangolins in Malaysia between 2007 and 2009, according to a wildlife watchdog today.

NONE Wildlife trade monitoring network TRAFFIC said an average of 1,585 pangolins were killed monthly by that gang alone during 14 months in Sabah.

In a report the organisation analysed logbooks seized from the trafficking syndicate last year by the Sabah Wildlife Department.

"The detailed record-taking by this criminal syndicate has given us a unique insight into the volumes of endangered pangolins being illegally traded in the region," said TRAFFIC senior programme officer Noorainie Awang Anak.

She said the number could be even higher since the logbooks ran from May 2007 to January 2009, but eight months' worth were unavailable.

"Whether this is because the books were missing or because there was no smuggling during the period is not known," she added.

Pangolin meat considered a delicacy

The Sabah Wildlife Department gave TRAFFIC access to the logbooks, which detail the volume, weight, source and prices of pangolins purchased by the syndicate during the period.

The Sunda pangolin, the species the syndicate were dealing in, is considered endangered and is protected under Malaysian law.

Pangolins are indigenous to the jungles of Indonesia, parts of Malaysia and areas of southern Thailand, and their meat is considered a delicacy in China.

International trade in any Asian pangolin species is banned under the UN's Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, but they are widely hunted and trafficked for their supposed medicinal properties.

Last year, Malaysian wildlife authorities rescued 130 pangolins and arrested two men attempting to smuggle the animals out of the country.

In 2008, Vietnamese customs seized 23 tonnes of frozen pangolins in a single week, most of them believed to be destined for China.

- AFP