ACTON TIMELINE

July 15, 2015 – The Center and our allies filed a petition to protect all the world's unlisted pangolin species — seven species total, with one species already listed — as “endangered” under the Endangered Species Act. We also petitioned to protect all pangolins under the Act's “similarity of appearance” provision. While most of the pangolin demand is centered in China and Vietnam, at least 26,000 imports of pangolin products were seized in the United States between 2004 and 2013. Endangered Species Act listing would generally ban the import and interstate sale of pangolin parts in the United States.

March 15, 2016 – In response to our petition, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service conceded that protections may be warranted and will be inviting information from scientists and the public about the pangolins' status and threats to determine whether an endangered listing would be appropriate. This is a crucial step forward towards protections for pangolins.

Pangolin photo   Darren Bradley