It is now acknowledged that demand stemming from traditional medicine stimulates a continued market for illegal wildlife trade globally. Increasing demand for pangolin fuels widespread unsustainable extraction and an illicit international trade that is threatening pangolin populations worldwide. Vietnam is an important transit country in this trafficking network and a significant consumer country, particularly due to their longstanding tradition of consuming wildlife products as traditional medicine. We conducted 51 semi-structured, questionnaire-based interviews with traditional Vietnamese medicine practitioners in Hanoi, Vietnam to explore the factors influencing their prescription of pangolin. The results show that traditional Vietnamese medicine practitioners are important drivers of pangolin use and that prescription continues despite prohibitive legislation. The main influencing factors were money, illegality (as a deterrent) and supply. Wealthier patients were more likely to use pangolin as medicine and patients generally trusted a doctor’s prescription. Awareness of regulations related to pangolin use in traditional medicine was low and pangolin use continued without fear of the law. Lactation, abscesses and circulation were the most prescribed uses for pangolin scales. All respondents believed that pangolin can be substituted, however, a belief remained that substitutes are inferior to pangolin. This study provides a unique perspective of pangolin use in one of the main pangolin consumption countries in the world. The results suggest that the law is not being implemented effectively and that increased enforcement efforts are necessary. Furthermore, these insights serve to inform future demand-reduction campaigns whereby the most common uses and substitutes for pangolin scales may be targeted.

现在已经认识到，传统医学引起的需求刺激了全球非法野生动植物贸易的持续市场。对穿山甲的需求不断增加，导致广泛的不可持续开采和非法国际贸易威胁着全世界的穿山甲人口。越南是这个贩运网络中的重要过境国和重要的消费国，尤其是由于越南长期以来一直将野生动植物产品作为传统药物消费。我们在越南河内对传统越南医学从业人员进行了51次基于问卷的半结构化访谈，以探讨影响他们穿山甲处方的因素。结果表明，越南传统医学从业人员是穿山甲使用的重要推动力，尽管立法禁止，处方仍在继续。主要影响因素是金钱，违法（作为一种威慑手段）和供应。较富裕的患者更有可能使用穿山甲作为药物，并且患者通常相信医生的处方。与穿山甲在传统医学中使用有关的法规的意识很低，穿山甲的使用仍在继续，而不必担心法律。泌乳，脓肿和循环是穿山甲磅秤最常用的用法。所有受访者都认为穿山甲可以替代，但仍然有人认为替代品不如穿山甲。这项研究为世界上主要的穿山甲消费国之一的穿山甲使用提供了独特的视角。结果表明该法律没有得到有效实施，因此有必要加大执法力度。此外，这些见解有助于为未来的减少需求运动提供信息，从而可以针对穿山甲鳞片最常见的用途和替代物。