Pangolins are the most trafficked wild mammals globally, killed for scales and meat. Their welfare in trafficking and in captivity is deeply compromised, and conservation programs face extraordinary challenges.
Pangolin welfare involves both the acute suffering of trafficking — animals transported in cramped conditions, often sustaining injuries — and the extreme difficulty of providing adequate care for rescued animals. Pangolins in trafficking shipments are typically stressed beyond the capacity of normal stress response, often dying before reaching their destination. Those that survive to seizure arrive at rescue centers in poor condition and frequently cannot be saved despite expert care because their specialized dietary and behavioral needs are so difficult to meet in captivity. The welfare case for preventing trafficking is therefore stronger than for rescue and rehabilitation: prevention of capture is the only welfare intervention that reliably prevents pangolin suffering in this context.