Pangolins are in trouble due to illegal international trade. They are poached in Southeast Asia for their scales which are used in traditional medicine. Over the past 8 years, authorities have seized 30,000 pangolins from illegal traders. Pangolin populations cannot sustain this level of hunting as they only birth one young per year. If the illegal wildlife trade is not stopped, experts fear pangolins will disappear completely from Southeast Asia.

1. Pangolins in Trouble!
Pangolins are found throughout Southeast Asia,
including in Singapore.
Although they are covered mainly in scales; they are mammals.
Pangolins are warm blooded, have hair and feed their babies with
milk.
These are peaceful creatures, active only at night when they hunt
for termites and ants.
As they have no teeth, their only defense is to curl up tightly into a
ball when they are afraid.
Mark Auliya/TSEA
International trade in Asian pangolins is banned.
They are protected under national laws wherever they occur...
yet still the trade continues.
Pangolins are seized from illegal
traders more often than any other
type of mammal in the region.
Authorities in Southeast Asia have
seized 30,000 pangolins from illegal
traders over the past 8 years.
Pangolins do not thrive in captivity
and cannot be farmed.
It is highly likely that all the pango-
lins in trade come straight from the
wild.
Adam Oswell/TSEA
Pangolins breed slowly with only one young born
each year.
Pangolin populations cannot cope.
The animals have almost vanished from some Southeast Asian
countries due to hunting for trade.
EW/TSEA

2. Pangolins in Trouble!
Trade in pangolins is driven by traditional beliefs.
They are used for a wide variety of reasons including treatment of
asthma and arthritis, to stop infants from drooling and protect
from witchcraft. It is even said by some that eating pangolin
foetus increases virility.
China fuels the demand for the animals with scientists estimating
that 100,000 animals are needed each year to satisfy the demand
for meat and scales.
Julia Ng/TSEA
Some big seizures have been made...
but the trade still continues - unless it stops,
pangolins are likely to disappear from Southeast Asia
completely.
Malaysia: At least 265 live pangolins were released back into the wild
after being seized from illegal wildlife traders between
2008 and 2009.
Indonesia: 14 tonnes of frozen pangolins ready for export seized
in Sumatra, 2008.
Viet Nam: 23 tonnes of frozen pangolins seized at Hai Phong Port, 2007.
China: Two traders sentenced to death for smuggling 17
containers of pangolin meat between 2005 and 2006.
Elizabeth John/TSEA
Very little is known about wild pangolins,
without knowledge of the species and
the trade we cannot defend them.
Pangolins need help – NOW!
Chin Sing Yun/TSEA
TRAFFIC Southeast Asia
Unit 3-2, 1st Floor,
Jalan SS23/11, Taman SEA,
47400, Petaling Jaya,
Selangor, Malaysia.
Tel:+6 (03) 78803940