PANGOLIN

The pangolin is the world's most trafficked mammal — and you have probably never seen one in the wild, because they are nocturnal, solitary, and live in burrows across the forests and savannas of Africa and Asia. There are eight species of pangolin — four in Africa, four in Asia. All are being wiped out. In 2019, customs officers in Singapore seized 14 tonnes of pangolin scales in a single shipment.

The scales are made of keratin, but in traditional medicine markets in China and Vietnam, they are believed to treat arthritis and other conditions. None of these claims are supported by science. Asian pangolin populations have been essentially extinguished — the Chinese pangolin now numbers fewer than 50,000 across all Asian species combined.

African pangolin species are now the primary source of supply to Asian markets. In 2022, INTERPOL and the Wildlife Justice Commission dismantled a major trafficking network operating between Nigeria and Vietnam. CITES Appendix I protections have been in place since 2016, but enforcement remains inconsistent across the 70-plus range states.