Source: BBC

This article contains images that some people may find distressing

Pangolins are said to be the world’s most trafficked mammal. All eight species are targeted for their meat and for use in traditional Chinese medicine. At the Cites meeting in South Africa in September 2016, they received extra safeguards against trafficking.

Wildlife photographer Paul Hilton wanted to capture their plight. He has won the Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition’s photojournalism category for his image “The Pangolin Pit”.

‘The pangolin pit’ is a winning photo in the Wildlife Photojournalist Award in the 2016 Wildlife Photographer of the Year (Credit: Paul Hilton)

The photo shows about 4,000 dead, defrosting pangolins, weighing a total of five tonnes. It is believed to be the largest seizure of these animals ever discovered.

As well as the dead pangolins, there were 96 live ones, kept alive because of their size. Force-feeding them could make them larger and more valuable to their poachers.

The dead pangolins were incinerated while the live ones were released into the local rainforest.

“Wildlife crime is big business,” says Hilton. “It will stop only when the demand stops.”

The rest of his images can be seen below.

A pangolin poacher, Kalimantan, Indonesia (Credit: Paul Hilton)

A poacher holds a pangolin as it rolls into a ball. Its scales are used in traditional Chinese medicine (Credit: Paul Hilton)

A Chinese trader shows off his pangolins in front of a restaurant in Myanmar (Credit: Paul Hilton)

A poacher removes the scales, after placing the pangolin into boiling water. The meat and the scales will be sold on the black market (Credit: Paul Hilton)

A conservationist holds a pangolin pup after a bust in Sumatra, on the way to a release site (Credit: Paul Hilton)

A tiny pangolin pup clings to its mother after its release. Almost 100 live pangolin where seized on route to China, destined for the dinning table (Credit: Paul Hilton)

Indonesian police look down on one of the largest seizures of pangolins (Credit: Paul Hilton)