A new global report, Conservation Status, Trade and Enforcement Efforts for Pangolins, reveals that more than half a million pangolins — an estimated 530,978 individuals — were involved in 2,222 illegal trade seizures between 2016 and 2024. Pangolin scales accounted for 99 percent of all confiscated parts.
Released at the end of 2025, the report offers the most up-to-date assessment of pangolin conservation status and both legal and illegal trade. Prepared by experts from the IUCN Species Survival Commission Pangolin Specialist Group for the CITES Secretariat, and drawing on submissions from 32 CITES Parties, including 15 pangolin-range States, the report shows that demand for pangolin scales and meat continues to drive exploitation across Africa despite international trade bans. It also highlights the urgent need for stronger protection, improved population monitoring and meaningful engagement with local communities.
There are eight pangolin species globally, four of which occur in Africa. All are heavily overexploited due to illegal international trade in their meat and scales, poaching for local use, and widespread habitat loss. In Southeast Asia, pangolin scales are used in so-called “medical elixirs” to treat ailments including asthma and arthritis, and their meat is considered a delicacy. In Africa, pangolins are frequently hunted and consumed in the illegal bushmeat trade.
Small, nocturnal and burrow-dwelling, pangolins are among the most elusive mammals on Earth. Rarely seen and notoriously difficult to study in the wild, comprehensive monitoring remains a major challenge. Yet despite their secretive nature, they have not escaped the attention of traffickers. Over the past decade, illegal trade has steadily increased.
Seizure data paints a sobering picture of the trade’s global reach. According to the report, 449 countries were implicated in pangolin seizure incidents during this period, with just 10 countries accounting for 96 percent of all seized pangolins. China and Viet Nam were identified as the main destinations for illegally traded pangolin parts, while Nigeria, Mozambique, Cameroon and the Congo were listed as key countries of alleged origin.
The most frequently detected illegal trade route was from Nigeria to Viet Nam, with an estimated 82,215 whole pangolin equivalents seized across nine incidents. African pangolin species were identified in 1,080 seizure incidents involving an estimated 87,906 whole pangolin equivalents. The report cautions that seizure data reflect only a fraction of the total trade, as many illicit shipments go undetected.
But there is hope for pangolins in Africa:
- In South Africa, specialised law enforcement teams have conducted intelligence-led sting operations, rescuing hundreds of live pangolins and securing convictions under the Threatened or Protected Species Regulations of the National Environmental Management: Biodiversity Act (NEMBA, Act 10 of 2004), including maximum 10-year prison sentences for some offenders.
- In 2024, Nigeria introduced the Endangered Species Conservation and Protection Bill, which proposes stronger penalties for trafficking in illegal wildlife products such as pangolin scales. The bill is currently awaiting final presidential signoff. West African governments and the IUCN Species Survival Commission, also announced the first-ever West Africa Regional Pangolin Conservation Action Plan 2026–2056 to coordinate protection, monitoring, and community engagement across several range states.
- In 2025, the Namibian government, in collaboration with the Namibian Pangolin Working Group, reaffirmed its commitment to protecting pangolins with the announcement of its National Species Management Plan to curb poaching and address habitat loss. Over the past four years, 35 pangolins have been rescued, rehabilitated, released, and monitored.
- Prices for pangolin scales in Cameroon fell by 45–75% between 2020–2025, signalling reduced demand. The government has also intensified enforcement, passing a new forestry and wildlife law that increased penalties for crimes involving Class A protected species, including pangolins, with fines of up to 50 million francs (US$89,000) and prison sentences of up to 20 years.
Moving forward, the report suggests that pangolin-range States should strengthen population monitoring and management at both site and national levels to better inform conservation action plans. More comprehensive and consistent data are needed to support evidence-based decision-making and long-term protection of all pangolin species. Effective conservation, the report emphasises, will also depend on the active and meaningful involvement of local communities and Indigenous peoples.
Peter Knights OBE, CEO of Wild Africa, says, “With few natural predators and slow reproduction rates, pangolins cannot sustain human exploitation. Recent changes to reduce use of scales in China should help, but we need more public awareness and better enforcement in Africa if they are to survive.”
Pangolins remain understudied and underprotected, and their time is running out. Without stronger enforcement, better data and sustained community engagement, their future remains uncertain. Protecting one of the world’s most extraordinary animals will require coordinated action from governments, conservation organisations and communities alike.