Bush meat sellers at Atwemonom, a local market centre for bush meat sales in Kumasi, have pledged to rally behind the government and stakeholders to halt the illegal trade and exploitation of pangolins, a critically endangered species.

The traders pointed out that, after learning about the enormous contributions of pangolins to ecosystem protection, it was time they ceased all forms of trade of the animal, which is one of the local delicacies among bush meat lovers in Kumasi and allow them to exist and multiply for the conservation chain to continue.

Madam Comfort Badu, Queen mother of Atwemonom Bush Meat Sellers, indicated that the traders were going to engage with the hunters to halt bringing in pangolins to the market for sale.

“We will talk to our hunters not to kill or bring the meat of pangolins to us again. It is serious to protect them, and again, the government has laws guiding the trading, poaching, and handling of pangolins. Any hunter who does not heed our advice and gets caught by the law does so at his own risk,” she buttressed.

Madam Badu was contributing to the discussions at the 2025 World Pangolin Day, organised by the Institute of Nature and Environmental Conservation (INEC) Ghana, in Kumasi.

The 2025 celebration was under the theme: ‘Youth Legacy for Pangolin Conservation.’

It brought together students from the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Toase Senior High School, Officers from the Wildlife Division of the Forestry Commission, Custom Officials and Bush meat Traders from Atwemonom.

Madam Badu assured that the market women would scrutinise the meat hunters’ supplies before making purchases.

Mr David Kwarteng, Executive Director, INEC Ghana, commended the market women for pledging support for the fight against poaching and trading of pangolin meat and scales.

He reiterated that pangolins were the most trafficked animals in the world and in Ghana the scaled animals faced a lot of challenges.

What was more worrying according to Mr Kwarteng, was the inability of conservationists to have data on how many pangolins left the wild each year.

It is heartwarming to hear from our mothers assuring us to report, confiscate, and educate hunters on the need to stop harvesting pangolins, the feedback from the traders has been refreshing.

The expectation is also that law enforcement agencies will administer the laws on pangolin trade and the justice system give appropriate sentencing to people who flout the law”, he observed.

Dr Meyir Zeikah, Manager of the Kumasi Zoological Gardens, called on the public to continuously bring rescued animals, including pangolins, to the Zoo for treatment and rehabilitation.

All eight pangolin species in the world are protected under national and international laws, and two are listed as critically endangered on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species. –GNA