WCC 2016 Res 015 - Activity Report

On 15th December 2017, new research released today by TRAFFIC and IUCN revealed an average of 20 tonnes of pangolins and their parts have been trafficked internationally every year with smugglers using 27 new global trade routes annually. The report was released in the wake of the world’s largest ever pangolin seizure, when China announced the seizure of 11.9 tonnes of scales from a ship in Shenzen the month previously. The comprehensive analysis of cross-border pangolin seizures has shown that a combined minimum of 120 tonnes of whole pangolins, parts and scales were confiscated by law enforcement agencies from 2010 to 2015. Perhaps most striking was the discovery that 159 unique international trade routes were used by traffickers during the six-year study period. By comparison, a previous analysis of CITES trade data found 218 such routes over a 38-year period from 1977–2014. The latest study by TRAFFIC and the University of Adelaide, reinforces the highly mobile nature of smuggling networks, with traffickers quickly shifting from commonly used routes after a short period and creating many new routes each year. Additionally, the study found tens of thousands more individual pangolins, parts and scales of unknown weight had also been recovered in the 1,270 international seizure incidents, mostly made by Asian law enforcement agencies.