Pangolins are the world's most trafficked mammal and one of the most challenging zoo animals to keep, creating tension between conservation necessity and captive welfare.
Pangolin captive welfare represents one of the most acute tensions in zoo conservation. The species desperately needs conservation attention given the scale of illegal trade threatening all species. However captive maintenance without specialised expertise and facilities causes more harm than benefit. Pangolins arriving at rescue centres from trafficking seizures often die despite best efforts. Investment in wild population protection, community engagement in range countries, and anti-trafficking enforcement addresses the conservation crisis without the welfare costs of captive maintenance. The handful of institutions that have succeeded in long-term pangolin care provide models for when captivity is genuinely justified.