Pangolins are the most trafficked wild mammals globally, with both the stress of trafficking and captivity causing severe welfare harm to surviving individuals.
Pangolin welfare in the context of trafficking is characterised by almost universal fatal outcome. Unlike some trafficked species that can survive extended captivity, pangolins are so physiologically and behaviourally specialised that capture and transport typically kill them within weeks even when intervention occurs. The welfare harm is severe: pangolins experience acute fear during capture, are transported in cramped, dark conditions without appropriate food, and deteriorate rapidly from stress-induced illness. For survivors who reach rescue facilities, the challenge of meeting their specialised nutritional needs means that successful rehabilitation and release is rare. The most effective welfare intervention for pangolins is preventing trafficking through law enforcement, demand reduction, and community-based conservation, rather than rescue and rehabilitation of trafficked individuals.