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The tides may finally be turning for Pangolins, often referred to as one of the most exploited creatures on Earth. In a move that's sending waves through conservation communities, China has announced that it will remove Guilingji, a traditional medicine containing pangolin ingredients, from its official 2025 Pharmacopoeia. The decision, confirmed in the revised edition released on the 25th of March, signals a significant step forward in wildlife protection and aligns with a growing global push to end the use of endangered animals in medicine.

Wildlife trafficking in Việt Nam has grown increasingly sophisticated and harder to detect in recent years as traders shift their operations to digital platforms. According to a Wildlife Trade Monitoring Network's (TRAFFIC) report, Việt Nam recorded approximately 22,500 online advertisements for wildlife and wildlife products from June 2021 to July 2023. Facebook dominates as the primary platform, accounting for 51.3 per cent of the activity, followed by Zalo at 35.5 per cent.

Demand for pangolins in Asia, where populations of these scaly mammals have dwindled, hasdriven traffickers to Africa, the only other continent where the increasingly endangered animals canbe found. Nigeria has become a hub for pangolin trafficking and other illegal trading of wildlife. Butauthorities have been cracking down, recently arresting a Chinese national suspected of being ahigh-level pangolin trafficker and targeting a supply network in a market in Lagos this month.

Number of smuggling cases involving ivory, pangolin scales and rhino horn has 'dropped significantly' since 2021, government says. Hong Kong has seen no "significant seizures" of smuggled ivory and pangolin scales since 2021, the government has said, attributing it to heavier penalties while animal rights groups pointed to international efforts in tackling the illegal wildlife trade as also helping.

Speaking to journalists, the Customs Area Controller, MMA command, Micheal Awe, said the operation, which was with the support of the Wildlife Justice Commission (WJC), led to the arrest of five suspects involved in the illegal wildlife trade. According to the Customs boss, the 3,765kg pangolin scale seizures mark the first major global seizure of its kind in 2025. He argued that the seizure highlighted both the persistent threat to pangolin species and the heightened vigilance of the NCS in dismantling these criminal networks.

People have asked us, "why pangolins?" We answer: they are the most trafficked mammals in the world - they matter, and need our help. But what does trafficking mean? It means pangolins are stolen - stolen from their habitats, stolen from the people whose traditions depend on them, stolen from the fabric of nature and culture. Driven by greed, ignorance and depravity, trafficking is a crime without mercy. The International League of Conservation Photographers (iLCP)'s Paul Hilton has published his account of a recent bust of pangolin smugglers in Indonesia.

The frequent seizure of Pangolin scales from smugglers by the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) further reinforces Nigeria’s notoriety as a place where illicit wildlife trade thrives with minimal checks. Available reports indicate that the collaboration between the NCS and the Wildlife Justice Commission (WJC) has led to the seizure of about 25,000 tonnes of pangolin scales in the last four years. Last Friday, the NSC Comptroller General, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, announced the arrest of a notorious trafficker in possession of 9,493 kg of pangolin scales believed to be about 7.2 tonnes…

It’s estimated that at least 38 pangolins were poached during the pandemic as people become more desperate to make money.

In the first incident at Rundu, a Namibian was arrested on 6 May for possession of a pangolin skin. Mukunga Leonard Mwamba was charged with illegal possession of and dealing in controlled wildlife products. At Kamanjab on 7 May, an Angolan national was arrested in possession of a pangolin skin. He was charged with contravening the Controlled Wildlife and Trade Act, illegal possession of and dealing in controlled wildlife products. Lastly, two Namibians were arrested at Oshakati on 14 May for being in possession of a pangolin skin.

Olivia the pangolin's alleged poachers will have to remain behind bars until June after their case was postponed.The pangolin pulled through the weekend and was in a stable condition after being rescued from three alleged poachers at a Shell garage on the N1 road in Midrand last Friday.

Three alleged pangolin poachers were bust red-handed and arrested when they tried to sell an animal to a "potential client" at a Shell garage on the N1 in Midrand on Friday. Olivia was the seventh pangolin rescued this year from poachers.

Within a period of two weeks there have been three wildlife crime cases recorded and four suspects have been arrested and charged. These cases were reported from 3 to 16 May, according to information provided by the intelligence and investigation unit within the environment ministry and the protected resources unit within the safety and security ministry. In the first incident at Rundu, a Namibian was arrested on 6 May for possession of a pangolin skin. Mukunga Leonard Mwamba was charged with illegal possession of and dealing in controlled wildlife products.

Two people have been arrested in Mulanje for being found with pangolin, a protected animal which is trafficked for its scales.

Five Mozambican citizens were detained by the National Criminal Investigation Service (SERNIC) in Tete city and Chitima, a village in Cahora-Bassa district, on Monday, having being found in possession of 11 elephant tusks, lions’ teeth, a leopard skin and a pangolin skeleton.