The extraordinary welfare challenges of maintaining pangolins in captive settings.
Pangolin captive welfare represents one of the most challenging welfare problems in conservation biology, as the species' extraordinary sensitivity to captivity makes even the most expert facilities struggle to prevent rapid welfare deterioration and death. The typical outcome for trafficked pangolins rescued and placed in rehabilitation centers is death within weeks, raising difficult questions about whether captive rescue genuinely serves individual welfare or primarily serves law enforcement and conservation symbolism. The clearest welfare-positive intervention is preventing pangolin capture through anti-poaching measures, as captive rescue rarely achieves the welfare outcomes the term implies.