Pangolins are the most illegally trafficked mammals globally, suffering enormously during capture and transport, with welfare and conservation concerns deeply intertwined.
Pangolin welfare during trafficking is catastrophic. As nocturnal, solitary animals that rely on curling into a ball as their primary defence mechanism, they are completely unprepared behaviourally for the conditions of the illegal trade. Mortality during transport is high because they stop eating under stress, are kept in stressful conditions, and their specialist diet cannot be provided. Surviving animals in seizures are extremely difficult to rehabilitate because their dietary specialisation makes captive feeding very challenging. The combination of severe welfare harm during trafficking and very limited rehabilitation success means that preventing trafficking through demand reduction and enforcement is the primary welfare intervention. Few animals enter and leave the wildlife trade with worse welfare outcomes than pangolins.