This is despite years of work by many quarters trying to save the animal that's going extinct, which also happens to be one of the most trafficked animal in the world.

Why was it even in the list? And for so long?

Now a protected animal

Now, on to the good news: the country has finally seen the light and decided to remove pangolin from the list, a CNN report shows.

According to the report, pangolin scales are very sought after as a type of traditional Chinese medicine as consuming them would improve blood circulation and reduce inflammation.

On Tuesday (9 June), pangolin scales have been removed from the latest edition of the Chinese Pharmacopoeia, an official government compendium of drugs covering traditional Chinese and Western medicines.

The reason given was "wild resources exhaustion".

According to Wild Aid, pangolins are the most trafficked mammal in the world. Last year alone, about 130 tonne of the animal was seized by the authorities.

That translates to roughly 400,000 animal, depending on the size.

Cracking down on poachers

To further protect the animal, China also recently placed the pangolin on the same level as the Giant Panda on the protected animals scale, with up to 10 years jail sentence for those who are found guilty of hunting, killing, smuggling or trading them.

The country has also said that it will take sterner action against wildlife traffickers and traders.