The pangolin is a shy, nocturnal insect-eater that rolls into a ball when threatened. That defence, perfect against predators, is useless against traffickers — and demand for pangolin scales has made this the most trafficked wild mammal on Earth.
Uganda sits on the trafficking route, and the numbers recovered here are sobering. In December 2021, a Task Force operation intercepted a Tanzanian national and an associate with approximately 740 kilogrammes of pangolin scales — thousands of animals in a single consignment — alongside 58 kilogrammes of elephant ivory. In 2020, joint operations in Oyam and Nwoya districts recovered pangolin scales and twelve firearms, arresting ten suspects. As recently as November 2024, a joint UWA–Police–UPDF–URA operation found two skinned white-bellied pangolins at a Kampala residence; the case ended in convictions and fines.
Stopping pangolin trafficking demands exactly the coordination the NWCCTF was created for: community intelligence on poaching, park-level enforcement, road and airport interdiction, financial investigation of the buyers, and prosecution that treats wildlife crime as the serious organised crime it is.
All eight pangolin species are protected under CITES Appendix I — international commercial trade is illegal, full stop. Under Uganda’s Wildlife Act 2019, offences involving protected species carry severe penalties.
Pangolins cannot speak for themselves. If you learn of scales being collected, sold or moved, speak for them — your report can be anonymous and is trackable.
