Pangolins are the most trafficked mammals in the world, and Central Africa is emerging as a hotspot for these crimes. All four species of pangolin on the continent inhabit the forests of Central Africa and are classified as endangered or vulnerable.
Organised international criminal networks that previously traded mostly with African elephant ivory are turning to pangolins. Huge numbers are being trafficked to Asia, despite a 2017 global trade ban on all eight pangolin species, and domestic legislation in Central African countries to protect and manage endangered wildlife.
The transnational demand for pangolin products drives the continued poaching and illicit trade. The animal’s meat is considered a delicacy in Asia. Its scales are thought to have magical and curative properties that drive demand for traditional medicine in Africa and Asia. Border porosity, weak law enforcement and corruption on the supply side enable this growing crime in Central Africa.
In 2021, Operation Kuluna, run jointly between the United States (US) and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) governments seized 938 kg of ivory and 34 kg of pangolin scales in Kinshasa worth around $3.5 million. The two foreign nationals arrested for trafficking wildlife products had allegedly paid bribes to Kinshasa authorities to ship the commodities.
A senior forestry official from the Republic of the Congo told the ENACT project that elephant and pangolin were the most poached species in the country. The forestry directorate says 20 tonnes of pangolin scales were seized at the port city of Pointe-Noire in 2018 and nine tonnes in 2020. Officials said these pangolins and their scales were smuggled from the port of Matadi in the DRC. Arrested traffickers over the years include Congolese, Malian, Lebanese and Chinese nationals.
