Improper treatment of ‘rescued’ animals substantially undermines welfare ethos of CITES guidance. We briefly report on the fate of confiscated live wild animals in China between 2010 and 2015, where illegal trade in both exotic and native wildlife continues to flourish. In particular, we draw attention to China’s lack of legislation or protocols ‘appropriate and consistent’ with the CITES code of practice pertaining to the protection of illegally traded wildlife after rescue.