The illegal pangolin trade subjects animals to multiple welfare crises from initial capture through transit to final sale, with very high mortality at each stage.
Pangolins captured for trade are tightly restrained in their defensive ball posture, causing musculoskeletal stress and preventing feeding. Transit in dark, cramped, overcrowded containers without water causes dehydration and respiratory disease. Animals confiscated from trafficking often cannot be rehabilitated due to their highly specialised dietary needs and extreme stress sensitivity. The scale of suffering across millions of pangolin trade events annually is enormous. Demand reduction education targeting traditional medicine markets is essential to reducing the welfare burden on this uniquely vulnerable species.