Pangolins are the world's most heavily trafficked mammals, with the physical and psychological trauma of capture and transport causing extreme welfare harm.
Pangolin welfare in the trafficking chain is catastrophic. Capture itself causes extreme stress in an animal with no evolved defense against human threats. Transport — often in crowded, dark conditions over long distances — results in many deaths before reaching destination markets. Surviving animals die in captivity from stress, dietary failure, and disease. Pangolins cannot be successfully kept in captivity without extraordinary expertise — most die within weeks of rescue in standard wildlife centers. The welfare case for preventing capture is therefore overwhelming: there is no humane way to traffic a pangolin. Demand reduction for pangolin scale products is the most important welfare intervention, followed by enforcement against trafficking networks.