Africa Travel Weekby Zambia Travel Magazine
The illegal trade of pangolins is thriving despite efforts to clamp down on the trade. Pangolins are believed to be the most illegally trafficked mammal, and these endangered animals are illegally hunted for food and traditional medicine.
The illegal trade of pangolins—the sale of live pangolins, their parts, or pangolin-derived products on the black market—is thriving. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (ICUN) reports that pangolins may account for as much as 20% of all illegal wildlife trade, with over a million poached in the decade leading up to 2014.
In the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of China alone, tens of thousands of pangolin scales, largely from Africa, were seized between 2013 and 2019, indicating a pangolin is killed every 17 minutes for this trade. In April 2019, Singapore authorities confiscated two record shipments totalling 28.2 tons of scales from around 72,000 pangolins—originating from Nigeria. In west and central Africa an estimated 8.5 million pangolins were removed from the wild for the illegal trade between 2014 and 2021.
In Asia, pangolin meat is considered a delicacy, and their scales are used in traditional medicine, creating a lucrative black-market demand. The US is another key market, with American customs officials seizing 30,000 pangolins from 2005 and 2014. With eight pangolin species split between Asia and Africa experts warn they could face extinction within 10-20 years if poaching persists.
Zambia is home to two of Africa’s four pangolin species: the white-bellied or tree pangolin (Phataginus tricuspis) and the Temminck’s or ground pangolin (Smutsia temminckii). In Africa, pangolins are reportedly used in traditional treatment for various illnesses.
Light at the end of the tunnel
Suwilanji Sichone, manager of Zambia’s Pangolin Rehabilitation Unit, noted that pangolins historically received little conservation attention until the Protect the Pangolin project launched in 2018 after a series of live pangolin seizures.
She explained that initially, law enforcement lacked the knowledge to care for weakened seized pangolins, leading to the establishment of a rehabilitation unit for their recovery and release back into the wild.
When asked if conversations about protecting pangolins by the government and stakeholders are yielding results, Suwilanji said that public awareness has grown, and people are now more respectful of pangolins, leaving them undisturbed in their solitary habitats. Seized pangolins now receive better care, improving their survival chances as officers have gained knowledge on how to handle them.
Wildlife Conservationist, Dr. Jackson Katampi highlighted that trafficking cases in Zambia are common, especially in urban hotspots such as Lusaka, Solwezi and Katete.
“What influences the trafficking of pangolins is mostly false information about how expensive they are. Traffickers believe they are worth thousands, so when they find one in their fields, they keep it and look for buyers, which often lands them behind bars. There also cases where traditional healers use pangolins for charms,” he explained.
He continued to say that no one has become rich by selling pangolins, urging people to dispel myths about their worth.
The African problem
In Nigerian Yorubic traditional medicine, pangolins are believed to enable invisibility and are used to treat 42 conditions, including infertility, stomach ulcers, and removing bad luck.
A study involving 48 traditional healers in Kumasi, Ghana, revealed that 13 pangolin body parts are used to treat various ailments. The most commonly prescribed parts are scales and bones, which hold significant cultural importance for spiritual protection, treating rheumatism and convulsions and in financial rituals.
Despite being classified under Schedule 1 of Ghana’s Wildlife Conservation Act of 1971 (LI 685), which prohibits hunting or possessing pangolins, their use in traditional medicine remains widespread, according to an article published by Plos One.
Godfrey Sichali, a former park ranger in Chinsali, Zambia, with over two decades of service, explained that pangolin scales are made of keratin, like human fingernails, and can regrow when cut. This has fuelled myths and driven economic trade in pangolins. Mr. Sichali’s observations align with the findings from traditional medicine studies in Ghana.
“There are strong myths that people have believed for a long time. For instance, some believe that with a live pangolin and a good witch doctor, the pangolin can be used to multiply money, leading to high demand for the animal,” he said.
Mr. Sichali highlighted that the government has implemented strict measures to protect pangolins due to their risk of extinction. He warned traffickers that using pangolins to ‘blast’ or multiply money, a practice known as the black dollar, is a myth that will result in imprisonment without any economic gain. Pangolins are estimated to cost about $600 per kilogramme on the black market.
When asked about the major buyers of trafficked pangolins, Mr. Sichali said that interactions with apprehended traffickers revealed that Chinese nationals are the primary buyers.
In Nigeria, the problem is worsening
In Nigeria, in 2022, customs officials seized 1,613 tons of pangolin scales and arrested 14 people. Additionally, in October 2023, Nigeria publicly burned four tons of seized pangolin scales valued at US$1.4 million, marking the first such public destruction aimed at discouraging illegal trafficking.
Dr. Mark Ofua, a veterinarian, wildlife conservationist, and Nigeria country representative for the Wild Africa Fund observed that the true extent of pangolin trafficking in Nigeria exceeds documented statistics. He said hunters and bushmeat sellers primarily gather pangolins for their scales, driven by lucrative offers from Chinese buyers.
“With the influx of Chinese buyers, the trade dynamics have dramatically worsened. Initially sought for their flesh, pangolin scales were discarded until Chinese buyers started offering substantial sums. Now, there’s intense focus on collecting and selling scales,” Dr. Ofua explained.
In a major incident in 2016, Chinese customs conducted their largest-ever seizure of pangolin scales, confiscating 3.1 tons from smugglers. According to Chinese state media, the scales were concealed in a container labelled as timber arriving from Africa. Customs officers discovered the scales—equivalent to about 7,500 pangolins—packed in 101 woven plastic bags hidden aboard the ship, with a black market value of over $2 million.
The challenge of monitoring large-scale trafficking, Dr. Ofua noted, is that Chinese buyers are now involved in local logging and construction industries, facilitating covert scale transactions. Dr. Ofua emphasized that many pangolin scales trafficked in Nigeria originate from neighbouring states like Cameroon, Chad, Niger, and Benin Republic. “Traffickers exploit porous borders and limited surveillance technology, evading detection. The smuggling of pangolin scales is rampant, and we’re only scratching the surface of its magnitude,” he added.
Dr. Ofua highlighted the complicity of some traditional rulers in facilitating scale movements in northern states, despite efforts by Nigerian customs and organisations like Wild Africa Fund to enhance enforcement using sniffer dogs. He emphasised that poverty is often cited as an excuse by traffickers caught with pangolins, but he views this as a cover for greed, not necessity.
A call for action
Protect the Pangolin Project’s Maina Malaya, and Communications Officer at Wildlife Crime Prevention, emphasised that enhancing law enforcement capabilities is crucial. She said this includes providing comprehensive training in anti-poaching techniques and equipping them with essential resources such as patrol vehicles, drones, and improved communication systems.
Malaya asserts that these measures can significantly boost effectiveness in detecting, apprehending poachers, and swiftly delivering pangolins to rescue centres. Additionally, she stresses the importance of fostering stronger collaboration between Zambia’s Department of National Parks and Wildlife (DNPW), other law enforcement agencies, and customs officials.
Improved information sharing and coordinated efforts are essential for effectively disrupting trafficking networks.
However, the situation in Zambia is further complicated by instances of law enforcement officers’ involvement in illegal pangolin trade. For instance, in July 2018, the Lusaka Subordinate Court sentenced a Wildlife Police Officer from the DNPW and an Officer from the Zambia Police Service to five years imprisonment with hard labour for unlawful possession of a live pangolin.
