根据科技透明项目进行的一项调查，穿山甲和穿山甲鳞片仍在脸书上出售，尽管与社交媒体平台的指南相矛盾。
穿山甲，有时被称为鳞食蚁兽，因其肉和鳞而成为非法野生动物犯罪的目标。根据世界野生动物基金会的说法，所有八种穿山甲都受到国家和国际法律的保护，对这种动物的捕杀使其中两种濒临灭绝。
Facebook的社区标准禁止试图出售、交易、捐赠、赠送或索取濒危物种或其部分的内容。但是，技术透明项目找到提供穿山甲及其鳞片出售的多个脸书页面。
根据非洲野生动物基金会(AWF)的数据，每年有多达270万只非洲穿山甲被杀死。他们的秤被用于传统中医，人们相信他们可以治愈各种疾病，包括关节炎和癌症。
根据科技透明项目，一个名为“穿山甲”的脸书页面提供了这种动物制成的油，并被归类为“动物救援服务”，以及“健康/美容”和“女性健康诊所”。
2016年9月22日，津巴布韦野生动物保护区导游马提乌斯·姆汉布手里拿着一只重达10公斤的雌性穿山甲，这只穿山甲在津巴布韦首都哈拉雷郊外的野生动物保护区被看管了9年。穿山甲是世界上被贩卖最多的动物，尽管国际法禁止，它仍然在脸书上被出售。
其他页面将自己归类为动物园。根据Buzzfeed新闻，两个页面的版主“穿山甲在越南销售”和“犀牛角和穿山甲在中国销售”将它们归入这个类别。
据BuzzFeed新闻报道，有一页说，“我们谨慎地狩猎和销售犀牛角和穿山甲，请联系我们，了解更多关于购买的信息，WhatsApp me”。
脸书公司发言人告诉记者新闻周刊该公司禁止濒危野生动物或其部分的交易。“这是非法的，这是错误的，我们有专门的团队来阻止这种活动，”发言人说。
根据联合国毒品和犯罪办公室的说法，当穿山甲留在它们正常的生态系统中时，不会对人类生命构成直接威胁。但是，非法销售使它们成为潜在的健康隐患，而且它们有可能是已经感染了全球300多万人的新冠状病毒的携带者。
在世界正努力应对一场大流行的时候，观察员委员会承认保护一种濒危物种可能不是人们最关心的问题。然而，鉴于我们对当前疫情的了解，联合国疾病预防控制中心表示，阻止穿山甲和其他野生动物的非法贸易是帮助预防未来公共卫生突发事件的“关键一步”。
两个专门介绍穿山甲销售的脸书页面已经因为违反公司政策而被撤下。当页面被撤下时，人们不能访问该页面的详细信息，包括联系信息。
2018年，终结野生动物在线追踪联盟召集了来自世界野生动物基金会和全球电子商务、技术和社交媒体公司(包括脸书)的专家，旨在到2020年将网上野生动物贩运减少80%。截至3月，参与该联盟的34家公司从其平台上移除或阻止了超过300万家公司上市。
当穿山甲感到受到威胁时，它们会利用鳞片状的外表，卷成一团保护自己。据《AWF》报道，虽然它们的鳞片很难被食肉动物穿透，但这种防御策略让它们成为偷猎者的一个容易的目标，因为它们可以简单地把穿山甲捡起来放进袋子里。
PANGOLINS BEING SOLD ON FACEBOOK DESPITE INTERNATIONAL BAN, POTENTIAL LINK TO CORONAVIRUS
Pangolins and pangolin scales are still up for sale on Facebook, despite being contradictory to the social media platform's guidelines, according to an investigation conducted by the Tech Transparency Project.
Pangolins, at times called scaly anteaters, have been the target of illegal wildlife crime for their meat and scales. All eight pangolin species are protected under national and international laws and the hunting of the animal landed two of the species on the critically endangered list, according to the World Wildlife Fund (WWF).
Facebook's community standards prohibit content that attempts to sell, trade, donate, gift or solicit endangered species or their parts. But, the Tech Transparency Project found multiple Facebook pages that offer pangolins and their scales for sale.
As many as 2.7 million African pangolins are killed every year, according to the African Wildlife Foundation (AWF). Their scales are used in traditional Chinese medicine and people believe they can cure a variety of ailments, including arthritis and cancer.
One Facebook page, called "Pangolin," offered oils made from the animal and was categorized as an "Animal Rescue Service," as well as, "Health/Beauty" and "Women's Health Clinic," according to the Tech Transparency Project.
Zimbabwe game reserve guide Matius Mhambe holds "Marimba", a female pangolin weighing 10kgs that has been nine years in care at Wild Is Life animal sanctuary just outside the country's capital Harare, on September 22, 2016. Pangolins are the world's most trafficked animal and continue to be sold on Facebook despite international laws prohibiting it.
Other pages categorized themselves as zoos. Moderators for two pages, "Pangolin Scales for Sale in Vietnam" and "Rhino Horns and Pangolin scales for sale in China," put them under that category, according to Buzzfeed News.
"We discretely hunt and sell Rhino Horn and pangolin scales contact us for more information on purchase, WhatsApp me," one page said, according to BuzzFeed News.
A Facebook company spokesperson told Newsweek the company prohibits the trading of endangered wildlife or their parts. "It's illegal, it's wrong and we have teams devoted to stopping activity like this," the spokesperson said.
When left in their normal ecosystem, pangolins don't pose an immediate threat to human life, according to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNDOC). But, illegal sales make them a potential health hazard and it's possible they were a carrier of the new coronavirus that has infected more than 3 million people around the world.
At a time when the world is grappling with a pandemic, UNDOC acknowledged protecting an endangered species may not be at the forefront of people's minds. However, given what we know about the current outbreak, UNDOC said stopping illegal trade in pangolins and other wildlife is a "critical step" in helping prevent future public health emergencies.
Two Facebook pages dedicated to pangolin sales have already been taken down for violating the company's policies. When pages are taken down, people can't access details from the page, including contact information.
In 2018, the Coalition to End Wildlife Tracking Online brought together experts from the WWF and global e-commerce, technology and social media companies, including Facebook, to reduce wildlife trafficking online by 80 percent by 2020. As of March, the 34 companies involved in the coalition removed or blocked more than 3 million listings from their platforms.
When pangolins feel threatened, they take advantage of their scaly exterior and roll into a ball to protect themselves. While their scales are difficult for predators to penetrate, the defense tactic makes them an easy target for poachers because they can simply pick the pangolin up and put it into a bag, according to the AWF.
