Pangolins are the most trafficked mammals in the world, with the illegal trade causing extreme welfare harm and pushing all eight species toward extinction.
Pangolins experience acute and prolonged suffering throughout the trafficking supply chain. Captured animals are often bound tightly to prevent escape, transported in crowded containers without food or water, and kept alive in markets for fresh slaughter. Pangolins are extremely stress-sensitive and die readily in captivity from psychological stress alone — the handling, noise, and confinement of the trafficking process causes death rates that traffickers accept as a cost of doing business. Confiscated pangolins require specialist veterinary care and quiet, enriched environments to have any chance of survival and eventual rehabilitation. The only welfare solution is eliminating demand for pangolin products in consumer markets.