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The pangolin trade is the illegal poaching, trafficking, and sale of pangolins, parts of pangolins, or pangolin-derived products. Pangolins are believed to be the world's most trafficked mammal, accounting for as much as 20% of all illegal wildlife trade.[1][2][3] In 2016, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), which regulates the international wildlife trade, added all eight pangolin species to its Appendix I, reserved for the strictest prohibitions on animals threatened with extinction.[4][5] They are also listed on the IUCN Red List, all with decreasing populations and designations ranging from Vulnerable to Critically Endangered.[6]
Pangolins are mammals of the order Pholidota, of which there is one extant family, Manidae, with three genera: Manis includes four species in Asia, and Phataginus and Smutsia each include two species in Africa. They are the only mammal known to have a layer of large, protective keratin scales covering their skin.
Pangolin behavior varies by species, with some living on the ground, in underground burrows, and some living in trees. A common predator, big cats, struggle to contend with pangolins' scales when rolled up, but since they roll up rather than run away, they are easily caught by poachers, who can simply pick up the animals.[2][4]
The pangolin trade is centuries old. An early known example is in 1820, when Francis Rawdon, 1st Marquis of Hastinges and East India Company Governor General in Bengal, presented King George III with a coat and helmet made with the scales of Manis crassicaudata.[7] The gifts are now stored in the Royal Armouries in Leeds.
The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), which regulates the international wildlife trade, added the eight known species of pangolin to its appendices in 1975. CITES places species it seeks to protect in three appendices organized according to urgency and, correspondingly, the strictness of the regulations. Appendix I includes the strictest prohibitions and is reserved for animals threatened with extinction.[5] In 1975, Smutsia temminckii was placed in Appendix I; Manis crassicaudata, Manis culionensis, Manis javanica, and Manis pentadactyla were placed in Appendix II; Smutsia gigantea, Phataginus tetradactyla, and Phataginus tricuspis were placed in Appendix III.[8] In 1995, Smutsia and Phataginus were moved to Appendix II. Finally, in 2016, at the 17th CITES Conference of Parties in Johannesburg, representatives of 182 countries unanimously enacted a ban on the international trade of all pangolin species by moving them to Appendix I.[4] Though the individual species are listed in Appendix I, the family as a whole (Manidae) is under Appendix II, with the implication that if additional species are discovered, they will be automatically placed in Appendix II.[8]
Despite restrictions on trade in place since 1975, enforcement is not uniformly strong and there is a thriving black market with which officials and conservationists have struggled to keep up.
Estimates place the number of pangolins poached each year at about 100,000.[2] Most are sent to China and Vietnam, where their meat is prized and scales used for medicinal purposes.[2]
African and Asian nations frequently report on noteworthy confiscations of pangolins and pangolin parts.
Smugglers sometimes hide shipments or disguise them to When a Chinese boat ran into a coral reef in the Philippines in 2013, officials discovered it to be carrying 10 tonnes of frozen pangolins
Pangolins have a thick layer of protective scales made from keratin, the same material that makes up human fingernails and rhinoceros horns.[7] Scales account for about 20% of the animal's weight. When threatened, pangolins curl into a ball, using the scales as armor to defend against predators. They are unusual in being the only mammal known to have such scales.
Intraditional Chinese medicine, the scales are used for a variety of purposes. They are dried and roasted, then sold based on claims that they can stimulate lactation,[2] help to drain pus,[2] and relieve skin diseases[7] or even palsy.[2]
Pangolin scales can cost more than $3,000/kg on the black market.[2]
Pangolin meat is prized as a delicacy in parts of China and Vietnam.[3] In China, the meat is believed to have nutritional value that makes it particularly good for kidney function.[7]
Less prominent than sale for meat or of scales is the trade in pangolin skins. In 2015, Uganda reported it had seized two tons of skins.[7]
All eight species of pangolin are listed on the IUCN Red List, with designations ranging from Vulnerable to Critically Endangered.[6] According to the IUCN, the populations of all species are decreasing.[6] A challenge to conservationists is the difficulty pangolins have in captivity. The animals do not adapt well to alternative or artificial foods and suffer stress, depression and malnutrition, leading to significantly shortened lifespans.[2][7]
Public awareness and support for conservation efforts can be important to their success. According to Annette Olsson, technical advisor at Conservation International, one of the problems the pangolin faces is that "It's not huge and not very charismatic. It's small and weird and just disappearing."[7] In 17 February 2017, a day before World Pangolin Day, officials in Cameroon burned 8 tonnes of confiscated pangolin scales representing approximately 15,000 animals. The motivations is similar to the more well-known practice of destroying ivory by burning or crushing.
In an episode of the BBC program Natural World, David Attenborough highlighted the Sunda pangolin as one of the 10 species he would like to save from extinction, recalling rescuing "one of the most endearing animals I have ever met" from being eaten while working on a film early in his career.[9]
