Global Pangolin Trafficking Crisis Pangolin trafficking remains a major global wildlife-crime crisis, with the latest CITES-linked reporting indicating that between 2016 and 2024 there were 2,222 seizure incidents involving an estimated 553,042 pangolins across 49 countries and at least 178 unique trade routes. Pangolin scales accounted for about 99% of confiscated parts, and the seizure data likely undercounts total trafficking because many shipments are never detected.
Recent analyses continue to identify Africa-to-Asia trafficking networks as the core pattern of the trade. China and Viet Nam remain the main alleged destination markets, while Nigeria, Mozambique, Cameroon, and the Congo are among the main alleged origin countries; one analysis also highlighted Nigeria-to-Viet Nam as the most used route by quantity. The crisis affects all eight pangolin species, which remain threatened or near threatened, and recovery is limited by slow reproduction and habitat loss.
Enforcement actions have increased in some places, but the problem remains severe. Nigeria’s wildlife-crime response has produced arrests and convictions, and reporting in late 2025 cited 42 traffickers arrested, over 25 tonnes of pangolin scales seized, and 13 convictions in one partnership program, alongside stronger penalties under Nigeria’s Endangered Species Conservation and Protection Bill. International operations such as CITES ICCWC Operation Thunder 2024 also documented large-scale wildlife seizures worldwide, including 4,472 kg of pangolin scales in Nigeria alone.
