Wholesale Pangolins: Scales of Injustice

‘The most trafficked wild mammal in the world’ – so scream the headlines. The international trade in these mammals means all eight pangolin species (four African & four Asian) are under threat of extinction. The Covid-19 pandemic has highlighted the trade: pangolins are possible vectors for the coronavirus from bats to humans. In southeast Asian ‘wet markets’, wild animals are stacked in small cages, their bodily fluids mingling, providing pathways for disease transmission. In Pangolins: Scales of Injustice, Richard Peirce introduces this charming mammal. He recounts the history of a pangolin poached in Zimbabwe, follows an agent of the African Pangolin Working Group on a sting operation to rescue the animal, and details its rehabilitation and release. Peirce explores the trade's methods, terrifying statistics, visits to markets, links to Covid-19, and China’s response to the pandemic.