Pangolin Conservation and Welfare

The dual conservation and welfare crisis facing pangolins as the world most trafficked wild mammal.

Key Facts

Pangolins are the most heavily trafficked mammals in the world, with all eight species listed as threatened or endangered
Approximately one million pangolins are estimated to have been trafficked in the past decade
Pangolins are consumed for meat and their scales are used in traditional medicine despite no proven efficacy
Pangolins are notoriously difficult to keep in captivity, with most seized animals dying within weeks of capture
The stress of capture, handling, transport, and captivity causes extreme physiological stress in pangolins
Pangolin mothers carry their young on their backs, and traffickers often seize mothers with pups attached

Welfare Considerations

Pangolin trafficking creates welfare suffering of extraordinary scale and severity. Individual pangolins seized from the wild experience extreme stress during capture and transport — they are specialists so physiologically adapted to their specific forest environments that captivity itself is lethal. The mortality during transit and in holding facilities is catastrophic, meaning that the millions of pangolins trafficked represent a vastly larger number of animals that suffer and die compared to those that survive to reach markets. The separation of mothers from pups during seizure causes the particular welfare harm of maternal separation for both animals. Conservation successes including trade bans, enhanced enforcement, and demand reduction campaigns in consumer countries directly translate to welfare improvements by reducing the number of pangolins entering the trafficking pipeline.

What You Can Do

Never purchase pangolin products in any form — scales, meat, or traditional medicine preparations
Support organizations conducting pangolin trafficking enforcement and consumer demand reduction
Learn to identify pangolin products and report suspected trafficking to enforcement authorities
Donate to pangolin rehabilitation programs working to return seized animals to the wild
Advocate for stronger penalties for pangolin trafficking in legislation in consumer and transit countries