Pangolins remain the most trafficked wild mammals on Earth. Anti-poaching enforcement and demand reduction are the most direct welfare interventions available.
Trafficked pangolins endure among the most extreme welfare experiences of any wildlife trade victim. They are captured by hand or with dogs, stuffed into sacks, stacked in crates without food or water, and transported for days or weeks. Mortality during transit is estimated at 50% or higher. Those surviving to markets or end consumers are killed — often by drowning or burning — in ways that maximise suffering. Anti-poaching operations that intercept shipments rescue individual animals from this suffering chain, though the survival rate even of rescued pangolins is poor given their extreme stress sensitivity and specialised dietary needs. Demand reduction, which removes the economic incentive entirely, is the highest-leverage long-term intervention.