Pangolin Welfare: The World's Most Trafficked Wild Mammal

Pangolins are the most trafficked mammal globally, facing extreme welfare harms from capture, transport, and use in traditional medicine.

Key Facts

All eight pangolin species are listed as threatened or critically endangered due to poaching and habitat loss
An estimated 1 million pangolins have been trafficked illegally in the past decade
Pangolins are highly stress-sensitive and die rapidly in captivity without specialized care
Their scales are used in traditional Chinese medicine despite having no proven medicinal value
International trade in pangolins has been banned under CITES Appendix I since 2017
Conservation breeding programs for pangolins have had limited success due to their specialized captive care requirements

Welfare Considerations

Pangolin welfare in trafficking is among the most severe of any species — these highly specialized animals die within days of capture in most cases, making the trafficking chain an extended welfare catastrophe. Animals captured alive for the restaurant trade or traditional medicine are often transported in severely crowded, stressful conditions, surviving long enough to reach buyers only through extreme resilience. The conservation and welfare crises are inseparable: pangolin trafficking reduction simultaneously saves lives and prevents suffering. Consumer demand reduction in East Asian markets for both scales and meat is the most critical intervention. Public education campaigns that accurately characterize the welfare horrors of the trafficking supply chain are among the most effective demand-reduction tools.

What You Can Do

Never consume pangolin products or traditional medicines containing pangolin scales
Donate to Save Pangolins, WildAid, and similar organizations working on demand reduction campaigns in key markets
Support anti-poaching programs in range countries across Africa and Asia
Engage with the welfare dimension of pangolin trafficking — not just conservation — when discussing this issue publicly