Implementation of CITES Decisions 17.239 b) and 17.240 on Pangolins (Manis spp.) Prepared by IUCN for the CITES Secretariat Dan Challender and Carly Waterman September 2017 Acknowledgments This report was made possible with financial support from the CITES Secretariat. The authors would like to thank Pia Jonsson, Tom De Meulenaer, Ben Janse van Rensburg and Sofie Flensborg in the CITES Secretariat for reviewing earlier versions of this report. Richard Jenkins from IUCN’s Global Species Programme is also thanked for his helpful review of the report. The CITES Parties are thanked for completing the questionnaires that informed this report and for reviewing a draft to ensure it is as accurate and up to date as possible. Willow Outhwaite from TRAFFIC is thanked for advising on the use of TradeMapper. Author affiliations Dan Challender, IUCN Global Species Programme, The David Attenborough Building, Pembroke Street, Cambridge, CB2 3QZ, United Kingdom Carly Waterman, Zoological Society of London, Regent’s Park, London, NW1 4RY, United Kingdom i Table of Contents Executive summary ............................................................................................................................... 1 1. Introduction ....................................................................................................................................... 7 2. Methodology ...................................................................................................................................... 8 3. Introduction to pangolins ............................................................................................................... 10 4. The listing of pangolins in the CITES Appendices ...................................................................... 11 5. National and global conservation status ....................................................................................... 12 5.1 Status of Asian pangolins ......................................................................................................... 12 5.1.1 Information from other sources ........................................................................................ 14 5.1.1.1 Manis pentadactyla .......................................................................................................... 14 5.1.1.2 Manis javanica ................................................................................................................. 17 5.1.1.3 Manis crassicaudata......................................................................................................... 20 5.1.1.4 Manis culionensis............................................................................................................. 23 5.2 Status of African pangolins ...................................................................................................... 24 5.2.1 Information from other sources ........................................................................................ 25 5.2.1.1 Manis tricuspis ................................................................................................................. 26 5.2.1.2 Manis tetradactyla ............................................................................................................ 28 5.2.1.3 Manis gigantea ................................................................................................................. 29 5.2.1.4 Manis temminckii ............................................................................................................. 31 6. Legal and illegal trade in pangolins............................................................................................... 33 6.1 Legal trade ................................................................................................................................. 33 6.1.1 Asian pangolins .................................................................................................................. 33 6.1.2 African pangolins ............................................................................................................... 38 6.1.3 Legal trade not reported to CITES .................................................................................. 43 6.2 Illegal trade ................................................................................................................................ 43 6.2.1 Live/dead pangolins ........................................................................................................... 46 6.2.2 Scales ................................................................................................................................... 49 6.2.3 Meat ..................................................................................................................................... 53 6.2.4 Medicine .............................................................................................................................. 54 6.2.5 Other ................................................................................................................................... 54 6.2.6 Information from other sources ........................................................................................ 55 7. Legislation and enforcement .......................................................................................................... 56 7.1 Legislation regulating international trade in pangolins ........................................................ 56 7.2 Regulation of harvesting and use of pangolins ....................................................................... 57 7.3 Minimum and maximum penalties for illegal activities ........................................................ 57 ii 7.4 Forensic analysis of pangolin specimens ................................................................................. 64 7.5 Forensic analyses conducted on pangolin specimens ............................................................. 64 7.6 Regulations for managing, storing, and disposing of confiscated pangolins ....................... 65 7.7 Enforcement challenges in combatting illegal trade in pangolins ........................................ 67 7.8 Enforcement best practices in combating illegal trade in pangolins .................................... 67 7.9 Collaboration and international operations ........................................................................... 68 8. Stockpiles and stockpile management ........................................................................................... 69 9. Identification and capacity building .............................................................................................. 71 10. Current captive pangolin populations ......................................................................................... 72 10.1 Information from Other Sources ....................................................................................... 72 11. Demand management, education and awareness-raising .......................................................... 74 11.1 Demand management ............................................................................................................. 74 11.2 Education ................................................................................................................................. 75 11.3 Awareness-raising ................................................................................................................... 75 11.3.1 Information from other sources ...................................................................................... 76 12. Ongoing and needed conservation actions .................................................................................. 78 12.1 Conservation Planning ........................................................................................................... 78 12.2 Monitoring methods ................................................................................................................ 79 12.3 Trade monitoring .................................................................................................................... 79 12.4 Site-based protection and local community engagement .................................................... 80 12.5 Captive Management .............................................................................................................. 81 13. References ...................................................................................................................................... 82 Annex 1 Methods used to estimate number of pangolins in trade .................................................. 94 Annex 2 Legislation tables .................................................................................................................. 96 iii SC69 Doc. 57 Annex 1 Executive summary At the 17th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to CITES (CoP17, Johannesburg, 2016), all eight species of pangolin were transferred from CITES Appendix II to Appendix I. The Parties also adopted Resolution Conf. 17.10 on Conservation of and trade in pangolins, and Decisions 17.239 and 17.240 on Pangolins (Manis spp.). Decision 17.239 directs the CITES Secretariat to, inter alia, prepare in cooperation with relevant organisations, and in consultation with range and implicated States, a report on: (i) the national and global conservation status of African and Asian pangolin species; (ii) available information about levels of legal and illegal trade;