The COVID-19 coronavirus is said to have been passed to humans from a wild animal. Since the initial outbreak in Wuhan, China last December, a number of animals have been suspected to be responsible for the COVID-19 virus. It is believed that the disease could have originated from horseshoe bats or snakes.

Unprecedented seizures of pangolin scales in Singapore last month – when the island-state seized a world record 25.6 tonnes in five days – is drawing more attention to the trade of the little-known creature.Said to be the most widely trafficked mammal in the world, all eight pangolin species – which are native to Asia and Africa – are now categorised as “vulnerable”, “endangered” or “critically endangered” according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Enda