ArticleScientific reports2025
Curbing the trade in pangolin scales in China by revealing the characteristics of the illegal trade network.
Article in Scientific reports, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.
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Who cites it
4 citing papers in PubMed.
- Illegal Wildlife Trade in Kathmandu Valley: A Hub of Biodiversity Crime.Ecology and evolution · 2026Article
- Targeted sequencing enhances detection of pangolin trafficking hotspots and dynamics of both domestic and global trade markets.PLoS biology · 2026Article
- First hematological and biochemical findings in a rehabilitated giant pangolin (Frontiers in veterinary science · 2026Article
- Artificial intelligence-driven solutions for mitigating human-wildlife conflict in biodiversity hotspots.Science progressReview
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Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
Abstract
Globally, pangolins are the most heavily trafficked mammals and China is one of the main destinations for their scales and meat. Conducting separate studies on the characteristics of the illegal trade in pangolin meat and in scales in China will provide a basis for devising more targeted protection strategies and actions. This study focused on the illegal pangolin-scale trading network in China by collating relevant cases of smuggling published in China Judgements Online, revealing that most scales came from Africa. The six main cities involved in the illegal trade in China were Bozhou, Chongzuo, Dehong, Beijing, Hong Kong, and Kunming. Seizures of illegally traded scales have decreased significantly due to strengthened law enforcement and increased public awareness of their protected status. We recommend that, in addition to advocating for stronger pangolin protection legislation and law enforcement in Africa, the inspection in China of cargo and baggage on ships and aircraft from Africa and of trucks entering and leaving Bozhou City should also by strengthened, as should the raising of awareness of pangolin protection among express delivery personnel, and in particular, practitioners of traditional Chinese medicine should be discouraged from using pangolin scales in treatments. These measures will further effectively curb the illegal trade in pangolins in China.
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