Coronavirus could edge pangolins closer to extinction

Severe acute respiratory syndrome, a deadly virus that spread worldwide in 2003 and killed 774 people, was linked to civets, small mammals often sold in open-air markets throughout Asia.

Now Chinese scientists believe the new coronavirus may also have first spread from animals called pangolins to humans.

The mammals are prized for their scales -- believed to have medicinal qualities -- their leather-like hides and their meat.

It is illegal to sell pangolins worldwide because they are an endangered species.

>>RELATED: State to file first criminal charges under new animal trafficking law

However, pangolins are the most-trafficked mammal in the world and can be found at open-air markets throughout Asia. It is believed that’s where they may have passed the deadly virus to people.

“I wasn’t surprised when I heard there might be a connection,” said Karen Povey, conservation engagement manager for the Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium in Tacoma.

“When you put animals in these very stressful environments and they become sickened and weak, that’s when some of these viruses can become more active,” Povey explained.

Povey is concerned about the future of pangolins, even if no definitive link is ever made between the animal and the deadly virus. “They’ve already had tremendous pressures on their populations and now, if there’s this connection of people feeling fearful because they may be disease carriers, there may be even more reason for people to want to try and kill them,” she said. “They’re certainly so close to extinction as it is that another problem is certainly going to make things worse.”

Under our state’s animal trafficking law, it is illegal to bring pangolins into Washington.

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