Endangered species linked to COVID-19 still for sale on Facebook
An animal at risk of extinction, which has also been linked to the spread of COVID-19, is still being advertised for sale on Facebook, a research group has warned.
The Tech Transparency Project claimed pangolins, a scaly-skinned ant-eating mammal found in Africa and Asia, were being offered live for the right price on a number of pages.
The eight species of pangolin are all considered at risk of being wiped out.
Pangolins are endangered species, but also valuable on the Chinese black market. AP
It has been linked to the coronavirus, as a potential 'stepping stone' between the bat species where the disease likely originated, and its human victims.
Pangolin scales are used in traditional Chinese medicine, and the animals are also eaten in other parts of Asia and Africa.
Despite trade in them being forbidden internationally, pangolins are widely trafficked and live animals and scales have been offered for sale in China's wet markets – some of which are beginning to re-open following government-enforced closures.
And, it seems, trade is still booming online.
Pangolins are the only mammals on Earth with scales. AP
The TTP claimed to have found numerous pages offering live pangolins and products ranging from scales to "pangolin oil" for sale.
Such offers breach Facebook's community standards, and a spokesperson said the tech giant had teams "devoted" to stamping out the trade on their site, Newsweek has reported.
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