Details of assessment carried out: Local hunter informed opinion.

Brief summary on why the use has been assessed/judged to be sustainable or unsustainable: Most of the hunters interviewed identified pangolins as being less abundant than they were five years ago suggests to the authors that levels of off-take, although seemingly low, are unsustainable. This is consistent with the 2017 CITES pangolin report.

Details of assessment carried out: this study

Brief summary on why the use has been assessed/judged to be sustainable or unsustainable: The study demonstrates how economically valuable a pangolin has become to rural hunters in the Dima Hasao district of Assam, India. It found that, on average, hunters capture one pangolin per year, receive an average of 200 INR (3.1 USD) per kg of meat (which for an approx. 3 kg animal is 600 INR, equivalent to 9.3 USD), plus an average of 17,000 INR per kg of scales (equivalent to 263 USD per kg of scales at the time of writing). Therefore, assuming that there are approximately 0.5 kg of scales per animal, the study estimates that hunters can potentially receive up to a total of around 9,000 INR per pangolin (for the meat and scales combined if they do not consume the meat themselves, equivalent to 139 USD). Even when divided by up to five people who might take part in a given hunt, this could amount to 1,800 INR (28 USD) each, in a one-off payment, that is likely to occur once per year. When compared to an average annual income of 25,000 INR (387 USD), this means that a single pangolin may be worth just less than one months’ income to a hunter in this area, even when hunting with others. A hunter operating alone has the potential to obtain a far greater amount, closer to just under a full year’s income for those on the lowest incomes. Study results suggest that commercial gain has supplanted traditional use as the primary driver for pangolin hunting, specifically as related to the use of pangolin scales. Pangolin meat was clearly only consumed or sold as a by-product of this activity and there was no evidence that it entered trade beyond perhaps sale within the hunters’ village. That the value of pangolin scales from a single animal approximates to four months’ of the average income of hunters in this region illustrates the substantial financial gains that are possible, even when hunting pangolins only occasionally.

Details of assessment carried out: this study

Brief summary on why the use has been assessed/judged to be sustainable or unsustainable: The study demonstrates how economically valuable a pangolin has become to rural hunters in the Dima Hasao district of Assam, India. It found that, on average, hunters capture one pangolin per year, receive an average of 200 INR (3.1 USD) per kg of meat (which for an approx. 3 kg animal is 600 INR, equivalent to 9.3 USD), plus an average of 17,000 INR per kg of scales (equivalent to 263 USD per kg of scales at the time of writing). Therefore, assuming that there are approximately 0.5 kg of scales per animal, the study estimates that hunters can potentially receive up to a total of around 9,000 INR per pangolin (for the meat and scales combined if they do not consume the meat themselves, equivalent to 139 USD). Even when divided by up to five people who might take part in a given hunt, this could amount to 1,800 INR (28 USD) each, in a one-off payment, that is likely to occur once per year. When compared to an average annual income of 25,000 INR (387 USD), this means that a single pangolin may be worth just less than one months’ income to a hunter in this area, even when hunting with others. A hunter operating alone has the potential to obtain a far greater amount, closer to just under a full year’s income for those on the lowest incomes. Study results suggest that commercial gain has supplanted traditional use as the primary driver for pangolin hunting, specifically as related to the use of pangolin scales. Pangolin meat was clearly only consumed or sold as a by-product of this activity and there was no evidence that it entered trade beyond perhaps sale within the hunters’ village. That the value of pangolin scales from a single animal approximates to four months’ of the average income of hunters in this region illustrates the substantial financial gains that are possible, even when hunting pangolins only occasionally.

Details of assessment carried out: this study

Brief summary on why the use has been assessed/judged to be sustainable or unsustainable: Precise medical uses were not specifically asked for, but interviewees reported usage for “piles”, malaria, the “nervous system”, stomach problems or (for pangolin liver specifically) “stomach disease”. Half (50%, N = 71) of all hunters also sold the meat, mostly (83.3% locations) locally, in the village or at the local market). With the exception of two interviewees who reported selling the liver and bile for medical purposes (“cancer medicine” and because it is “good for the nervous system”) for 17,000 and 18,000 INR per kg (263 and 279 USD per kg, respectively), the price of meat per kg ranged between 80 and 300 INR per kg (1.2 – 4.6 USD, median = 200 INR or 3.1 USD per kg, N = 67. Western medicine has not corroborated this important role of pangolins in traditional Chinese medicine

Details of assessment carried out: this study

Brief summary on why the use has been assessed/judged to be sustainable or unsustainable: In addition to conservation concerns, the study mentions a number of animal welfare issues associated with hunting practices currently being applied in Dima Hasao. The duration of suffering is of particular concern given that hunters stated it can take several hours to successfully extricate a pangolin from its burrow or tree den during capture. Live transport after capture is also of concern. Although the study found no evidence of traditional or commercial use of live pangolins, hunters reported that pangolins are often carried in a bag until they reach a more suitable place for subsequent slaughter. The opportunity for animal suffering during slaughter is particularly apparent given that hunters reported placing pangolins into boiling water [a technique employed to aid scale removal]. Although 74% of hunters reported that a knife or club was used to kill the pangolins beforehand, concerns remain that a proportion may still be alive when the boiling process begins.