The following 2023 policy brief examines the global crisis facing pangolins—the world’s most trafficked mammal. Despite international bans and growing awareness, all eight species remain critically endangered due to sophisticated transnational trafficking networks and continued demand for their scales, meat, and body parts.

Drawing from recent data and investigative reports, the brief analyzes the drivers of the illegal pangolin trade, from local poaching fueled by economic insecurity to industrial-scale smuggling operations spanning Africa, Asia, and Europe. It explores how legal loopholes—such as authorized uses in China—and insufficient enforcement contribute to the trade's persistence.

Key insights include the strategic use of maritime routes, the identification of major trafficking hubs, and the failure of global regulatory systems to deter criminal networks. The brief calls for coordinated international enforcement, stronger port regulations, community-based conservation efforts, and public awareness campaigns to shift funding and attention toward lesser-known endangered species like the pangolin.

By linking wildlife crime to broader issues of ecological governance and organized crime, this policy brief urges immediate, multi-layered intervention to prevent the extinction of a keystone species—and to safeguard global biodiversity more broadly.