Where Pangolin Trafficking Is Rampant

In a move to cut down on illegally trafficked wildlife, Beijing introduced a revision of its Wildlife Protection Law in 2023 that expanded the country’s list of protected species and criminalized the sale and consumption of meat from certain animals. 

The most recent trafficking data published by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime shows that between 2002 and 2019, the country was the leading destination country for pangolin trafficking interceptions, with 221,843 seizures between 2011 and 2018. Meanwhile, Nigeria was the country of origin with the highest number of seizures, followed by the Democratic Republic of Congo, Cameroon, Malaysia and Ghana. Use of the traditional medicines varies by region in China and according to a 2020 survey, as many as 96.6 percent of Chinese online respondents are against eating wild animals and 78.9 percent are against using wildlife products including fur and bones.

Data from the Wildlife Seizure Dashboard shows that the business of wildlife trafficking is truly international. Looking at the wider flow of illicit wildlife trade of ivory, leopards, lions, pangolins, rhino horns and tigers across all regions in the years 2013-23, the platform shows that the highest numbers of seizures took place intra-regionally with 1,055 seizures taking place with Asia to Asia interceptions, followed by 382 seizures of foiled deals from Africa to Africa, meanwhile the highest number of inter-regional seizures were from Africa to Asia (343). Even though a far lower number, several seizures also took place directed from Asia towards Africa, as well as from Europe to Asia and vice versa, while Latin America had lower total seizures still. This does not give a full picture, however, as it is only the successful seizures counted here.