Overview

• The US Fish and Wildlife Service’s June 16 proposal would extend ESA protections to four Asian and three African pangolin species, joining the Temminck’s ground pangolin already covered under the act.
• Conservationists warn seven pangolin species are on the brink of extinction due to poaching, habitat loss and high demand for their scales and meat.
• If finalized, the listing would tighten US trade and import bans on pangolin parts, exempting only scientific and conservation uses, and empower prosecutors against smugglers.
• Authorities seized nearly four tons of pangolin scales in Nigeria in April and 1.2 tons in Indonesia last November, underscoring the trade’s links to drug and arms trafficking.
• Groups including the Center for Biological Diversity and International Fund for Animal Welfare have lobbied for years for this move despite President Trump’s efforts to weaken habitat protections under the ESA.