The amount of elephant ivory, rhino horn, and pangolin scales intercepted by authorities in 2020 was far less than compared with the previous five years, according to analysis for National Geographic by the Center for Advanced Defense Studies (C4ADS). The coronavirus pandemic likely dampened both the ability of wildlife traffickers to move their products internationally and of law enforcement to detect them, according to the group, a U.S. nonprofit that analyzes transnational security issues.

Both the number of seizures and weight of seizures plummeted, which suggests that even if the wildlife parts were transported between Africa and Asia in smaller batches, the overall level of their trafficking between the continents dropped. Nonetheless, some wildlife experts note that the online trade has