Since 2019, all pangolin species were prohibited from commercial trade but criminal networks continue to source, traffic them in alarming numbers.
More than half the number of pangolins and parts seized in Asia from 2015 to 2021 originated from Africa, indicating the continued capture of the mammals to feed Asian demand, says Traffic, a leading NGO working globally on illegally traded wild animals and plants.
According to records by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), between 2013 to 2017, when the up-listing of all pangolin species to Appendix I of CITES came into force, the amount of pangolin scales legally imported went from almost zero to nearly 13 tonnes, with four countries — Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Congo (Brazzaville) and Uganda — being responsible for the bulk of the shipments. China, UNODC says, was the importer of 99 percent of this volume.
Appendix I lists species that are the most endangered among the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES).
A new Traffic rapid analysis of confiscations in the region, released on World Pangolin Day on February 19, looking at 1,141 seizures involving both African and Asian pangolin species in Asia, found the majority of the pangolins and parts came from Africa.
Pangolins are reclusive nocturnal creatures and the only mammal wholly covered in scales. The UN says they are arguably the most heavily trafficked wild mammal in the world today.
Their scales, which are widely used in traditional medicine, accounted for a majority of what was seized between the 2017 to 2019 period, Traffic says.
During this time, in which more than 609 confiscations occurred in Asia, accounting for the seizure of 244,600 kg of scales and 10,971 individual animals, the largest confiscations involved African pangolin scales.
Pangolins are seized whole, both dead and alive, and also as parts, hence Traffic suspects the actual volumes could be higher since the weights of seizures are not always made public.
There are eight species of pangolin: four found in Asia and four in Africa.
Pangolin products are used in traditional Chinese medicine. According to UNODC, the scales are said to promote blood circulation and increase lactation in pregnant women, while the meat is used as a tonic.
The UN body says in studies carried out in 2018, in Uganda and Cameroon residents reported pangolins are becoming harder to spot. It attributed amplified African sourcing of pangolin scales to declining Asian populations.
Given that the scales from one pangolin weigh between 0.36kg to 3.60 kg, multi-tonne seizures of scales represent far larger numbers of pangolins killed than meat shipments of a similar weight.
If one African pangolin produced an average of 500 grams of scales, the 185 tonnes of scales seized between 2014 and 2018 would represent about 370,000 pangolin equivalents.
“A third of hunters and traders interviewed in Uganda reported that traffickers take advantage of the weak border controls and security challenges in northern Uganda, DRC and South Sudan to offload the scales they collected, sometimes concealing themselves as impoverished locals to avoid detection at known checkpoints,” said UNODC.
Traders and traffickers also store stockpiles of scales in countries where the rule of law is weaker and wildlife crime enforcement limited before moving the scales for immediate sale to buyers in more high-risk locations.
In Uganda, hunters told UNODC they were able to catch up to 20 pangolins per day. Hunters make from $8 to $13 for a small live pangolin and $25 to $30 for a large one, according to the UNODC.
Very large individual seizures in 2019 show that Nigeria is the primary point of export of pangolin shipments, while Vietnam has emerged as the primary destination.
In October 2019, Beijing announced having seized 23 tonnes of pangolin scales in a series of operations coming from Nigeria via the Republic of Korea. That year alone 69.3 tonnes of scales were seized in total, either coming from Nigeria or the DRC. The seizures happened in China, Vietnam, Singapore, Turkey and Nigeria. Recent large seizures of pangolin scales are often found mixed in shipments of ivory.
Other times they are shipped concealed in wood chippings.
Some 71 percent of seizures of whole pangolin equivalents recorded in World WISE between 2007 and 2018, where the destination was known, were destined for China, with 19 percent bound for Vietnam. Other destinations were Hong Kong SAR, Malaysia and Singapore.
However, pangolin seizures dipped in more recent years – from 2020 to 2021 – with 233 seizure incidents recorded involving 13,389 kg of scales and 247 individual animals.
The drop is attributed to shutdowns and disruptions in the movement of products through the global transportation system as a result of Covid-19, rather than actual reduction in poaching levels.
“These lower seizure numbers should be treated with caution. They are transient and as borders reopen and international commerce picks up, so will trafficking levels and hopefully detection levels too,” said director for Traffic in Southeast Asia, Kanitha Krishnasamy.
“What remains crucial – and wanting – are a crackdown on criminal groups and open wildlife markets that operate with impunity and holding consumers accountable for illegal purchases while working to reduce consumers demand at the same time.”
While East and Southeast Asia have long been part of the problem as a source, transit and destination, Traffic says India is seeing a rise in poaching and illegal trade.
India’s seizures, though not the highest by volume, were the greatest in number in Asia from 2015 to 2021. The frequency of seizures has spiked in recent years. Close to 70 percent of India’s 287 seizures were from 2019 to 2021.
“This is extremely concerning and if this level of poaching and trade continues, we could well find the Indian Pangolin joining the ranks of its other Asian and African counterparts as Critically Endangered,” Head of Traffic India, Saket Badola.
Since 2019, all pangolin species have been prohibited from commercial international trade. Despite this, criminal networks continue to source and traffic pangolins in alarming numbers.