Pangolins are the most trafficked mammal in the world, with all eight species threatened by poaching for scales and meat, creating severe welfare harms during capture, transport, and trade.
Pangolin welfare in the trafficking trade represents some of the most acute suffering in global wildlife trade. The journey from capture to market involves extended confinement in cramped bags without food, water, or temperature regulation — conditions that are physiologically catastrophic for highly specialized animals that cannot adapt to captivity. The welfare harm compounds: pangolins that survive transport may be kept alive in markets for extended periods, often without appropriate diet, before being killed by methods that may include live boiling. The complete dependence on a single food source (ants and termites), inability to adapt to captivity, and extreme stress responses to handling make every pangolin in trade a welfare emergency. The conservation and welfare case for demand reduction in consumer markets — primarily China and Vietnam — is unambiguous. Consumer education, enforcement, and alternative medicine promotion are the priority interventions.