New Delhi, May 2 -- Global trafficking of pangolin scales and elephant ivory has sharply declined since 2020, with a new report attributing the drop to pandemic-related disruption, sustained enforcement and changing smuggling tactics.

The report, Disruption and Disarray: An Analysis of Pangolin Scale and Ivory Trafficking, 2015-2024, published by the Wildlife Justice Commission (WJC), observed a marked decline in large-scale seizures over the past four years, suggesting a shift in the criminal landscape.

The analysis noted that seizures remarkably plummeted after two major consignments of pangolin scales were intercepted within days of each other in 2020. Authorities in Singapore seized approximately 25 tonnes of pangolin scales in two...