China’s Pangolin Scale Commerce Declines, Research Reveals, however Smuggling Persists

By Keith Anthony Fabro

A examine of Chinese language courtroom information from 2010 to 2023 discovered that pangolin scale seizures peaked in 2018 and have since declined; whereas the authors attribute this to elevated enforcement and public consciousness in China, impartial observers cite world elements like COVID-19 and stricter laws in supply and transit international locations.
The examine recognized six key cities in China — Bozhou, Chongzuo, Dehong, Beijing, Hong Kong and Kunming — as main transit hubs for the unlawful pangolin scale commerce, with most scales originating from Africa, significantly Nigeria, and smuggled by way of seaports and overland routes.
The clandestine nature of the commerce, weak enforcement in rural and border areas, and underreporting imply the true scale of the commerce is probably going far better than reported, with corruption and superior smuggling strategies enabling unlawful actions to persist.
Researchers name for strengthened regulation enforcement, neighborhood engagement, outreach to conventional medication practitioners, and worldwide cooperation, alongside legislative reforms to ban the home use of pangolin scales in conventional Chinese language medication and shut wildlife trafficking loopholes.

An evaluation of Chinese language courtroom information from 2010 to 2023 finds that pangolin scale seizures within the nation peaked in 2018 earlier than starting a gradual decline.

The paper attributes this to elevated enforcement and public consciousness in China, however observers cite world elements just like the COVID-19 pandemic and stronger enforcement in supply and transit international locations, warning the dimensions of the commerce could also be larger as a consequence of underreporting and its clandestine nature.

Within the latest examine, printed in Nature, consultants from South China Regular College analyzed 390 instances of unlawful pangolin scale commerce recorded from 2010 to 2023 in China Judgments On-line, the nation’s most authoritative and complete case adjudication platform. Utilizing geospatial and statistical strategies, the examine discovered that the majority confiscated scales originated in Africa, and have been funneled by way of six key Chinese language cities, recognized for his or her thriving conventional medication markets, worldwide commerce hyperlinks, and strategic areas.

The researchers had beforehand analyzed the identical database to trace seizures of pangolin meat, which they discovered to be consumed on a restricted scale as a luxurious merchandise and standing image primarily in southern China. Against this, pangolin scales are consumed for medicinal functions and utilized in many Chinese language areas.

The evaluation of courtroom instances associated to pangolin scales attributed the drop in reported seizures to heightened enforcement and rising public consciousness efforts throughout the nation.

“We think that this was closely related to the strong intervention in wildlife-related violations in recent years in China and the vigorous development of wildlife conservation education, including for pangolins,” the authors, who declined interview requests, wrote within the paper.

The paper notes that in recent times China has intensified efforts to curb wildlife trafficking by way of partnerships with NGOs like WildAid to coach regulation enforcement in figuring out smuggled pangolin merchandise; nationwide crackdowns; worldwide regulation enforcement collaborations; and specialised antismuggling operations. In 2020, China banned wild animal consumption, upgraded pangolins to the very best safety degree, imposed stricter trafficking penalties, and eliminated pangolin scales from its official record of conventional medication substances.

The U.Okay.-based Environmental Investigation Company (EIA), nonetheless, gives a unique clarification for the decline of seizures after 2018, pointing as a substitute to world elements. EIA pangolin campaigner Erin Chong cited elements “including the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as increased awareness and enforcement in source and transit countries so the scales don’t actually make it into China.”

Primarily based on EIA Crime Tracker information, pangolin scale seizures globally peaked in 2019, each by variety of incidents and amount seized. “Since then, the lowest quantity of scales seized per year was in 2023, but 2024 showed an approximate three tonne increase,” Chong, who wasn’t concerned within the examine, advised Mongabay by e-mail.

In the meantime, the researchers famous that their reported variety of seized pangolins is probably going an underestimate, as China Judgments On-line solely turned totally operational in 2013, with obligatory public disclosures beginning in 2014. Some latest smuggling instances may be lacking as a consequence of delayed judgments or different elements.

Olajumoke Morenikeji, West Africa chair of the Pangolin Specialist Group on the IUCN, the worldwide wildlife conservation authority, mentioned the seizure information displays solely a fraction of the true scale of China’s pangolin commerce.

“The actual volume of pangolins being traded is almost certainly far greater than what official records suggest,” Morenikeji, who wasn’t concerned within the examine, advised Mongabay by e-mail. She cited corruption, weak enforcement, and complicated smuggling strategies as elements enabling unlawful shipments to evade detection.

Information limitations additionally contribute to underreporting, particularly in rural areas and alongside porous borders the place enforcement is weaker, Morenikeji mentioned. “If seizures represent only what authorities manage to intercept, the unseen portion of the trade is likely immense.”

Main commerce hubs, routes in China

The paper notes that the unlawful pangolin scale commerce is “widespread in China” and centered within the cities of Bozhou, Chongzuo, Dehong, Beijing, Hong Kong and Kunming, together with a number of different cities forming main routes. With out the commerce participation of those six main cities, the evaluation confirmed that “more than 90% of China’s illegal pangolin-trading network would be disrupted.”

These cities could have change into key transit factors within the unlawful pangolin-scale commerce as a consequence of elements corresponding to Bozhou’s Chinese language natural medication business; the strategic border areas of Chongzuo (alongside the border with Myanmar), Dehong (on the border with Vietnam) and Kunming (a transit hub for items from Vietnam, Laos and Myanmar) facilitating commerce with neighboring Southeast Asian international locations; or their roles as worldwide change hubs, like Beijing and Hong Kong.

“Strengthening law enforcement in these cities will play a significant role in destroying the illegal trade in pangolin scales in China,” the paper says.

It traced commerce hyperlinks from African international locations — Nigeria, Ethiopia, Equatorial Guinea, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Cameroon — to China and different Asian nations, together with Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia, Vietnam, Laos, Pakistan, the United Arab Emirates, Nepal and Myanmar.

The EIA’s Chong mentioned the examine’s information, significantly the highlighted international locations, aligns with the watchdog’s findings from open-source experiences and intelligence.

“To my knowledge, there has not been another review of Chinese court cases like this, and it corroborates what we know about the illegal trade,” she advised Mongabay by e-mail.

Ninety-four % of the 136,301 pangolins seized from 2010 to 2023 originated from African international locations, primarily Nigeria, the paper famous, with the remaining 6% sourced from Asia. The white-bellied pangolin (Phataginus tricuspis) accounted for 90% of the scales, adopted by the Southeast Asia-native Sunda pangolin (Manis javanica), at 5%. Just one case concerned a Philippine pangolin (Manis culionensis).

Pangolin scales from Africa have been discovered to be smuggled into China principally by way of seaports, whereas scales from Asia primarily enter by way of vehicles and mail. Inside China, scales are transported primarily by vehicles and vans, with notable routes involving Bozhou, Beijing, Baoding and Tianjin. The paper recommends strengthening inspections of cargo from Africa and vans coming into and leaving Bozhou, in addition to elevating consciousness amongst categorical supply employees.

To fight pangolin scale smuggling at Nigerian airports and seaports, Morenikeji recommended specializing in strengthening regulation enforcement with higher inspections, intelligence profiling and undercover work, whereas additionally deploying superior applied sciences like AI scanners, wildlife forensics and digital cargo monitoring for improved detection and prevention.

Morenikeji mentioned stronger border safety, interagency collaboration, worldwide cooperation and more durable authorized measures — corresponding to harsher penalties, expedited prosecutions and asset seizures — are additionally important to dismantling smuggling networks.

“Beyond enforcement, engaging local communities, awareness campaigns and financial rewards for informants can encourage more people to report illegal activities,” she added.

The researchers name for elevated outreach to conventional Chinese language medication practitioners, and for laws to ban the prescription of pangolin scales to scale back demand and shield the species. Additionally they suggest extra scientific research on the pharmacological results — or lack thereof — of pangolin scales to advertise different therapies and scale back their use in medication.

The EIA referred to as on China to adjust to CITES, the worldwide wildlife commerce conference, by reporting pangolin stockpiles and submitting annual commerce experiences, whereas additionally urging it to amend its Wildlife Safety Regulation to shut loopholes and shut down the authorized home marketplace for pangolin merchandise, together with their use in TCM. This manner, Chong mentioned, the manufacture of pangolin-based medicines would cease and “existing medicines in circulation are no longer advertised or available for sale.”

FEEDBACK: Use this way to ship a message to the creator of this submit. If you wish to submit a public remark, you are able to do that on the backside of the web page.

Citations:

Xi, F., Chao, X., Wu, S., & Zhang, F. (2025). Curbing the commerce in pangolin scales in China by revealing the traits of the unlawful commerce community. Scientific Stories, 15(1). doi:10.1038/s41598-025-87183-5

Zhang, F., Xi, F., Tang, X., Cen, P., & Wu, S. (2023). The unlawful commerce community of pangolin meat in Chinese language mainland and its implications for the implementation of key interventions. Biodiversity Science, 31(10), 23079. doi:10.17520/biods.2023079

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Beforehand Revealed on information.mongabay with Artistic Commons Attribution

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