The arrest of two Vietnamese men who brokered the sale of 900kg of pangolin scales has highlighted the rampant illegal wildlife trade. Pangolins, valued for their scales and meat, are critically endangered due to intense poaching across Africa and Asia.

The jailing of two Vietnamese men who brokered a sale of 900kg (2,000lbs) of pangolin scales from Africa destined for the Chinese market has returned the spotlight to the illicit trade in an animal that has been poached to the edge of extinction. Prized for its meat and scales, the pangolin has almost disappeared from forests and their hilly habitats of Africa and Asia. Conservationists estimate around 1 million have been trafficked over the last decade, triggered by demand for traditional...