Pangolins are currently the most heavily trafficked wild mammals in the world. In this report, the illegal pangolin trade from 2010–2015 was investigated, focusing on the global trade routes used to traffic pangolins and their derivatives.
Pangolins, or scaly anteaters, are unique in being the world's only truly scaly mammals, but are in dire need of urgent conservation action. Pangolins have been subject to very little conservation or natural history research, and consequently, little is known about their biology, ecology, and conservation needs. It was in response to this predicament that the IUCN SSC Pangolin Specialist Group was re-formed in 2012. Its first conference was held in Singapore in June 2013, and it is from this meeting that this conservation action plan was borne.
