All eight pangolin species are threatened by the illegal wildlife trade, making them the most trafficked mammals in the world. Their unique biology and welfare needs challenge both conservation and care efforts.
Pangolin welfare involves both the acute suffering of trafficking — animals packed in sacks, transported in cramped containers, often dehydrated and starving before reaching markets — and the chronic welfare challenges of rehabilitation care. Trafficked pangolins experience extreme stress, physical injury, and metabolic disruption. Those rescued at enforcement checkpoints require specialist care that most wildlife facilities are not equipped to provide — pangolin-specific dietary needs (live ants and termites), their extreme stress susceptibility, and their respiratory disease vulnerability create a difficult care situation. The welfare and conservation crisis are inseparable: at current trafficking rates, pangolin populations in affected range countries are in severe decline. Addressing demand through education and behavioral change campaigns in consumer countries is the most critical intervention.