More than 500,000 pangolins were seized globally between 2016 and 2024, according to a new report by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). The figure an estimated 553,042 animals across 2,222 seizure incidents lays bare the industrial scale of trafficking in the world’s most heavily traded mammal.
The report, released around World Pangolin Day 2026, identifies at least 74 countries as linked to the illegal trade, operating across 178 distinct routes. China and Viet Nam emerged as the principal alleged destinations for seized consignments, while Nigeria, Mozambique, Cameroon and the Congo were frequently cited as origin points. Researchers caution, however, that declared origins in seizure data do not always reflect the animals’ true wild source, given the layered and opaque nature of trafficking networks.
All eight pangolin species remain threatened with extinction, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Four species are native to Asia, including the Indian pangolin and the Chinese pangolin; four occur in Africa, among them the White-bellied pangolin, which accounted for the largest estimated quantities seized. Trafficking is driven largely by demand for scales used in traditional medicine as well as meat and other body parts.
Encouragingly, enforcement agencies appear to be improving their ability to identify species in seizures. Fifty-nine per cent of recorded cases were identified to species level, up from 40 per cent in 2021. Yet the picture remains incomplete: 83 per cent of trafficked quantities were not identified to species level, particularly when shipments involved scales rather than live animals or skins. This lack of precision hampers targeted conservation efforts and obscures which populations are being hit hardest.
India occupies a complex position in this landscape. As a range state for both the Indian and Chinese pangolins, it bears direct conservation responsibility. While India is not among the primary global trafficking hubs, scientific literature confirms continuing domestic demand, and seizure data indicate occasional consignments destined for the country. At the same time, India’s population estimates remain outdated, and it did not submit updated information in the most recent CITES reporting cycle.
Since January 2017, at least 709 arrests linked to pangolin trafficking have been recorded globally, resulting in 188 convictions figures that suggest both active enforcement and the persistence of organised networks. The report concludes that while seizure data come with inherent limitations, the trade remains widespread, transnational and deeply entrenched.
World Pangolin Day 2026 is therefore less a commemoration than a warning. Despite international bans and periodic crackdowns, the world’s only scaly mammals continue to vanish in staggering numbers quietly, and at the margins of global attention.