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Alarm as Africa’s pangolins disappear at an alarming rate
Although pangolin scales are widely used in some traditional medicine markets, there is no scientifically proven medicinal value attached to them. Nevertheless, demand continues to fuel criminal networks that span multiple continents.
What you need to know:
- According to global seizure records and trade monitoring data, more than one million pangolins were killed and trafficked between 2000 and 2013.
- Between 2010 and 2015 alone, authorities recorded 1,270 seizures across 67 countries and territories, involving an estimated 120 tonnes of pangolin body parts and more than 46,000 individual carcasses.
Kenya, Uganda, Cameroon, and Nigeria are increasingly becoming key source and transit hubs in the global illegal trade of pangolins, the world's most trafficked wild mammal.
The alarm was raised on February 21 as the world marked the World Pangolin Day. Conservation lobby group World Animal Protection highlighted the rapid expansion of trafficking networks operating across East, West, and Central Africa. The organisation warned that this trend is accelerating the pressure on already declining pangolin populations.
According to global seizure records and trade monitoring data, more than one million pangolins were killed and trafficked between 2000 and 2013.
Between 2010 and 2015 alone, authorities recorded 1,270 seizures across 67 countries and territories, involving an estimated 120 tonnes of pangolin body parts and more than 46,000 individual carcasses, according to World Animal Protection.
All eight pangolin species —four found in Asia and four in Africa —are currently listed under Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, which prohibits international commercial trade. Despite the ban, enforcement agencies continue to intercept consignments of pangolin scales and meat destined for overseas markets. This points to the resilience and sophistication of organised transnational trafficking syndicates.
Edith Kabesiime, wildlife campaign manager at World Animal Protection, warns that pangolins are being hunted and exploited at alarming levels.
"Pangolins are being hunted, trafficked and exploited at alarming levels. However, there is hope. If we strengthen enforcement, empower communities, and reduce consumer demand for pangolin meat and scales, we can turn the tide," she says.
Although pangolin scales are widely used in some traditional medicine markets, there is no scientifically proven medicinal value attached to them. Nevertheless, demand continues to fuel criminal networks that span multiple continents.
Across Africa, countries including Kenya, Uganda, Cameroon and Nigeria have increasingly been identified in international enforcement reports as both source and transit points in global trafficking routes supplying overseas markets.
Conservationists warn that the loss of pangolins carries serious ecological consequences. A single pangolin consumes thousands of ants and termites daily, playing a critical role in regulating insect populations and maintaining ecosystem balance, particularly in the face of climate change shocks. The mammal's burrowing activities also help aerate soil, contributing to healthier landscapes; a boost for the agricultural sector.
Also read: From pangolins and aloe to ants: How Kenya is caught up in curious global black market trade
However, pangolins have a slow reproductive rate, with females typically giving birth to only one offspring after a long gestation period. This makes population recovery extremely difficult once numbers decline due to overexploitation.
Apart from biodiversity loss, experts caution that the illegal wildlife trade poses broader public health risks. Unregulated handling, transport and sale of wild animals increase the potential for zoonotic disease transmission, particularly where enforcement and hygiene standards are weak.
On World Pangolin Day 2026, World Animal Protection announced a long-term initiative built on three pillars: generating scientific evidence to inform policy, supporting community-led pangolin protection efforts, and engaging consumer countries in Asia to strengthen enforcement and reduce demand for pangolin scales.
"Community involvement will be key to safeguarding pangolins, particularly in rural areas where poverty, limited livelihood options and weak enforcement create fertile ground for poaching networks," said Edith Kabesiime, the organisation's wildlife campaign manager.
As trafficking routes grow more complex and lucrative, conservationists argue that stronger cross-border collaboration, tougher penalties and sustained public awareness campaigns will be critical to reversing the decline of Africa's pangolins. Without urgent and coordinated action, experts warn, one of the continent's most unique and ecologically important mammals could edge closer to extinction.
