Pangolins are the world most heavily trafficked wild mammals, with all eight species threatened by illegal hunting for their scales and meat, causing suffering on an enormous scale and pushing multiple species toward extinction.
Trafficked pangolins experience profound suffering across the entire chain from capture to destination. Capture by hand causes extreme fear in an animal that relies on curling up as its only defence. During transport, animals are often confined in tight sacks or containers without food, water or appropriate temperature for days to weeks. Mortality during transit is high. Survivors arrive severely stressed, dehydrated and often physically injured. Those that reach live markets face additional confinement stress and distress responses to human handling. The high captive mortality reflects the extreme difficulty of meeting pangolin dietary and environmental needs, meaning even rescued animals often cannot be successfully rehabilitated.