Exclusive: Pangolin scales listed for sale online by British company
Pangolins are often described as the most-trafficked animal in the world and the trade in their parts is being facilitated online
When Nigerian customs officers raided a warehouse in Ogun, a province bordering the capital Lagos, in August last year they made a horrifying discovery. Inside were nearly 200 large bags, packed full with nearly 7,000kg of pangolin scales.
Pangolins, often described as the most-trafficked animal in the world, are critically endangered. Native to Africa and parts of Asia, they are hunted for their meat domestically
but their scales are also prized by practitioners of traditional Chinese medicine.
All eight species are categorised as endangered by the IUCN and they are listed under appendix one of CITES, which means their international trade is banned. Last month the US government also announced a consultation on better protections for the animal.
However, Wild Crime has found that British and American companies advertised pangolin scales for sale online. It is not clear whether any sales were completed, but simply advertising pangolin parts feeds into increasing demand.
The companies listed pangolin scales (as well as apparently “live pangolins”) on a Korean business-to-business marketplace.
Attempts were made to contact both companies and the e-commerce website where the products were listed, but none responded.
The most trafficked animal in the world
Pangolins have long been in high demand. The sheer scale of the trade in their parts points towards the involvement of organised criminal groups, according to the Wildlife Justice Commission (WJC). In 2019, two seizures of pangolin scales in Singapore over the course of just a few days yielded a staggering 25 metric tonnes.
The trade was heavily disrupted by the pandemic and an encouraging report published by the WJC this April suggested that the resulting fall in seizures had persisted. “Recent intelligence suggests that important law enforcement efforts, fluctuations in price dynamics and changing market demands could be contributing to a substantial reduction in the illegal trade” of pangolin scales, the report concluded.
However, that does not mean the trade is finished. In recent weeks law enforcement officers in Vietnam and Cameroon have seized scales and arrested suspect. Six months after the operation in Ogun, Nigeria, a Chinese national was arrested on suspicion of being the mastermind of the smuggling network.
Asia – and more specifically China – plays an outsized role in the illegal trade of wild animals. Traditional Chinese Medicine is a popular form of healthcare in the world’s most populous country and many of its remedies derive from exotic animal parts. In the case of the pangolin, its scales are believed to treat nervousness and even deafness.
The middlemen
The international trade in wild animals relies on a network of middlemen. Some trade is linked to serious organised crime, but much of it simply happens online. E-commerce sites have become a vital conduit for the sale of wild animals.
“Looking for pangolin scales? You’ve come to the right place.” So says the website of South Korean e-commerce site EC21.
EC21 describes itself as “a leading global B2B marketplace connecting buyers with suppliers all over the world including China, Korea, United States and more”. Among the products it lists are “Korean organic processed food”, nutrishake “for cancer patients”, and bidet wipes. But its product listings also include something more sinister: wild animal parts.
Wild Crime was quickly able to find dried seahorses, another ingredient used in Chinese medicine, squaline, a type of fat derived from sharks, and a product which appeared to be the skin of a shark.
We also found pangolin scales.
Jackson and Family Ltd is registered to what appears to be a block of flats in London. Its website says it offers “wholesale partner solutions” and it ships to a huge number of countries, as far afield as Colombia, India and Angola.
Its page on EC21 lists more than 200 products for sale. These include one in which it claims to be able to provide: “Live pangolin, wholesale pangolin scales and pangolin meat.” This listing is not included on its company website.
The company did not respond to a request for comment.
Another account registered in the US claims to be able to provide 100kg of pangolin scales a month sourced from “reliable South American suppliers”. Pangolins are not native to South America, suggesting that shipments could be via a conduit.
EC21, the online marketplace, also failed to respond to attempts by Wild Crime to contact it. At the time of writing, the listings were still live.
Simone Haysom, of the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organised Crime, said that online platforms are a “major overlooked gap” in the fights against wildlife trafficking. “Internet regulators and other authorities need to wake up to the fact that these markets are enabling massive marketing of products that ultimately derive from the trafficking done by organised, serious and transnational criminal networks,” she added.
The fightback
Despite the persistence of this trade, there has also long been a fightback against it. The most recent development comes in the US, which has tabled proposals to protect seven species of pangolin under its Endangered Species Act. We are currently in the middle of a 60 day consultation period on the proposals. Although pangolins are already protected under other international agreements, protection under the Act would give American enforcement officers more powers to tackle the issue.
Another success story has come in Nigeria, which has become a hotspot for pangolin smuggling as populations in Asia have been pushed down by poaching. In 2021 it launched the Special Wildlife Office to focus on wildlife crime specifically. It also partnered with the WJC and has conducted 18 operations targeting pangolin smugglers, securing 12 convictions.
Despite this, if small-scale wholesalers in the UK are offering pangolin scales for sale, it is clear that more needs to be done.