Most trafficked wild mammals (current)

According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), more than 1 million pangolins (family Manidae) were illegally traded between 2000 and 2013, making them currently the most trafficked wild mammals in the world. In some cultures, pangolins have long been prized for their meat and scales, the latter of which are used in traditional medicine. Demand for these ant-eating animals native to Asia and Africa comes mainly from a small number of countries, such as China, Vietnam, Nigeria and the USA.

Estimates suggest as many as 300 pangolins are poached from the wild every day, or around one every five minutes.

Other research indicates that these numbers could be very conservative. One study published in <i>Conservation Letters</i> in 2018 that focused on pangolin trade in Central Africa calculated that as many as 2.7 million pangolins were poached annually between 2000 and 2014, a 150% increase from the period 1975–99.

Another study into the seizures of pangolin body parts and trading routes, from between 2010 and 2015, revealed that 33 countries/territories were involved in this industry per annum. The top 10 in terms of number of reported trafficking incidents were: China, Vietnam, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Thailand, Laos, Indonesia, Nigeria, Germany and the USA.

In September 2016, pangolins were listed as Appendix I by Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) – the highest level of protection for a species, prohibiting all commercial international trade.

In total, there are eight species of pangolin. Four are native to Africa: the black-bellied pangolin (Phataginus tetradactyla), white-bellied pangolin (Phataginus tricuspis), giant ground pangolin (Smutsia gigantea) and Temminck's ground pangolin (Smutsia temminckii); the other four live in Asia: the Chinese pangolin (Manis pentadactyla), Sunda pangolin (Manis javanica), Indian pangolin (Manis crassicaudata) and Philippine pangolin (Manis culionensis). All eight species are threatened, with two – the Chinese pangolin and Sunda pangolin – currently listed as Critically Endangered by the IUCN.