Pangolins are considered among the most heavily trafficked wild mammals in the world. There are eight known species — four in Asia and four in Africa — and all are now listed under Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), which bans international commercial trade. Despite this protection, African pangolin scales have been smuggled in enormous quantities to Asian markets for over a decade. Elephant ivory, long valued for its use in art, jewelry, and as a status symbol, has faced similar pressures, with demand in Asian markets driving the poaching of African elephants.

The purpose of this report is to examine how the illegal trade in these two commodities has changed over the past decade. Specifically, it compares the five-year (pre-pandemic) period from 2015 to 2019 with the five-year (post-pandemic) period from 2020 to 2024, using seizure data, black market price trends, and criminal intelligence gathered by the non-governmental organization Wildlife Justice Commission.

The authors compiled a dataset of 2,201 seizure incidents involving pangolin scales and/or elephant ivory from January 2015 through December 2024, drawn from media reports, law enforcement press releases, court records, and other published reports. The analysis focused on significant seizures — large shipments by land, sea, or air that could be attributed to organized crime networks. Wholesale black market price data was collected through undercover engagements with senior brokers and traffickers at both the African supply side and Asian demand side of the supply chain. The authors are transparent that seizure data captures only a fraction of actual trafficking activity, and that intelligence gaps exist around how much product is reaching Asian markets undetected.

The scale of the crisis over this decade is striking. More than 370 metric tons of pangolin scales were seized globally — potentially representing between 100,000 and one million individual pangolins. More than 193 metric tons of elephant ivory were seized, representing an estimated 19,300 individual elephants.

The pre-pandemic period saw rapid escalation: between 2016 and 2019, the annual volume of pangolin scales seized more than tripled. In 2019 alone, a series of record-breaking seizures in Singapore, Vietnam, and China — amounting to more than 25 metric tons of scales and 25 metric tons of ivory — pointed to the growing involvement of industrial-scale organized crime networks. These shipments required substantial financial capital, corrupt connections, and business infrastructure to move.

Then, in 2020, COVID-19 brought this trajectory to an abrupt halt. Border closures and travel restrictions disrupted the supply chains that depended heavily on in-person dealings and cross-continental coordination. The volume of pangolin scales seized dropped 75% from 2019 to 2020, and ivory seizures fell by 94%. Since then, trafficking has remained at comparatively low levels. By 2024, volumes of both commodities seized were down 84% and 74%, respectively, compared to 2019 peaks.

Several patterns have emerged in the post-pandemic period. The number of large, multi-ton seizures dropped 55% compared to the pre-pandemic years. Combined shipments of both pangolin scales and ivory, which had grown to represent more than half of all product seized in 2019, have nearly disappeared since 2022. Prices for both commodities have declined and stabilized. Notably, there have been no significant seizures of pangolin scales at any seaport globally since January 2022, and none at any airport since October 2019. More seizures are now occurring on land in Africa, indicating that product is being intercepted before it can be exported. The Wildlife Justice Commission’s intelligence suggests that targeted arrests and prosecutions in Nigeria and China have created fear and distrust within the networks, creating something of a stalemate between suppliers, brokers, and buyers.

There are important limitations to keep in mind. Seizure data reflects only what law enforcement detects and reports, and not all countries publish this information consistently. The possibility that criminal networks are using better concealment or have secured corrupt contacts at receiving ports — allowing more shipments to pass undetected — can’t be ruled out. Data on pangolin population levels is also severely limited, making it difficult to assess whether the species themselves are recovering. The possibility that some of the decline in seizures reflects product scarcity, not just reduced trafficking, remains open.

The evidence offers a cautious but real reason for hope. Consistent, intelligence-led law enforcement that targets the senior figures in criminal networks — not just individual shipments — appears to be making a genuine difference. China’s implementation of a domestic ivory trade ban, combined with aggressive prosecution of trafficking networks, and Nigeria’s partnership with the Wildlife Justice Commission to conduct targeted operations at the African supply side, have had measurable disruptive effects. However, the report cautions that criminal networks are adaptive: they shift commodities, routes, and methods in response to enforcement pressure. Angola, Mozambique, Ghana, and Liberia are emerging as potential new hubs for ivory and pangolin scale shipments, and without coordinated international action, crime will simply displace rather than diminish.

For animal advocates, these findings carry an important implication beyond law enforcement strategy. The sheer scale of killing represented in this data — hundreds of thousands of individual animals, their bodies stripped for scales and tusks — is made possible only by sustained consumer demand. The fact that criminal networks shift fluidly between pangolin scales and ivory depending on price signals and market conditions makes clear that targeting any single product or route is insufficient. Reducing demand at the consumption end of the supply chain — particularly in Asian markets — is essential to protecting these animals in the long term. Advocates can use this research to make the case for stronger demand-reduction campaigns, stricter domestic trade bans, and meaningful investment in the kind of long-term, intelligence-led enforcement that this report shows can actually work.

This summary was drafted by a large language model (LLM) and closely edited by our Research Library Manager for clarity and accuracy. As per our AI policy, Faunalytics only uses LLMs to summarize very long reports (50+ pages) that are not appropriate to assign to volunteers, as well as studies that contain graphic descriptions of animal cruelty or animal industries. We remain committed to bringing you reliable data, which is why any AI-generated work will always be reviewed by a human.