The quietest little creature on Earth just made the loudest noise… and the world is finally listening. This might change the future of pangolins!
Global (30 April 2025) – The tides may finally be turning for Pangolins, often referred to as one of the most exploited creatures on Earth.
In a move that’s sending waves through conservation communities, China has announced that it will remove Guilingji, a traditional medicine containing pangolin ingredients, from its official 2025 Pharmacopoeia. The decision, confirmed in the revised edition released on the 25th of March, signals a significant step forward in wildlife protection and aligns with a growing global push to end the use of endangered animals in medicine.
And the news couldn’t have come at a more poetic time.
Just as China makes headlines for moving away from pangolin-based remedies, a breathtaking South African documentary is climbing the Netflix charts. Kulu: The Pangolin’s Journey (now in the global top 10) follows the tender and courageous path of a rescued pangolin being nursed back to health and returned to the wild. The film is beautiful. Heart-wrenching. Hopeful. And utterly unforgettable. It tells the story of these shy, scale-covered animals, often called the real-life dragons of the natural world, and the humans fighting for their survival.
And suddenly, the world is listening.
Pangolins are currently the most trafficked mammals on the planet. Poached for their scales (wrongly believed to have healing properties) and meat (considered a delicacy in some parts of Asia), they’ve suffered silently for decades. Despite international bans and increasing legal protections, demand for their body parts has continued, especially in traditional medicine markets. Guilingji, a widely known Chinese remedy that included red ginseng, deer antler, seahorse and pangolin, has long been controversial. First listed as a national secret prescription in 1957, it’s held symbolic value in the world of Traditional Chinese Medicine. But that status has now changed. While it doesn’t amount to a total ban, the removal from the Pharmacopoeia – China’s official reference for safe, standardised medical treatments – makes it harder to promote, prescribe, or legitimise its use.
According to experts, the shift reflects a growing awareness of ethical medicine and sustainable health practices. Animal-based products without proven medical value are slowly being phased out in favour of plant-based alternatives, particularly when those ingredients come at a high cost to biodiversity and species survival.
For pangolins, this move, paired with the momentum of the Netflix documentary, could be a massive catalyst for change. Conservationists have been shouting into what may feel like a void for years, fighting for a species most people had never even heard of. But now, the world is paying attention. Millions of people are watching. And one of the most powerful nations on Earth is rewriting tradition with compassion at its core.
This is progress. Slow. Hard-won. But deeply meaningful.
Because when we choose empathy over exploitation, and understanding over outdated beliefs, we do more than protect a single species, we remind ourselves what kind of world we’re capable of creating.
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