NINH BÌNH — The Carnivore and Pangolin Conservation Programme (CPCP), a collaboration between Save Vietnam’s Wildlife (SVW) and Cúc Phương National Park, released 20 endangered Sunda Pangolins to a safe and undisclosed location in Việt Nam on Wednesday.

The critically endangered pangolins were rescued from the wildlife trade and rehabilitated at SVW/CPCP in Cúc Phương National Park in the northern province of Ninh Bình.

The released pangolins were among 21 pangolins confiscated by the provincial Forest Protection Department (FPD) in June. Pangolins normally do not survive well in captivity and yet of the 21 pangolins, 20 survived.

“This successful release and high survival rate of the rehabilitated pangolins is in large part thanks to the co-operation of Ninh Bình FPD which enabled us to release the animals quickly and avoid the high mortality that pangolins normally experience due to captivity stress,” said the manager of the CPCP, Trần Quang Phương.  

The pangolins were given health checks to ensure they had fully recovered from the injuries they sustained in the illegal wildlife trade and were micro-chipped, allowing them to be identified in future.

Executive Director of Save Vietnam’s Wildlife, Nguyễn Văn Thái, said “This year we have released 95 Sunda Pangolins confiscated from the wildlife trade back to safe locations in the wild. While this is good news, these pangolins represent only a fraction of those illegally traded each year in Việt Nam. We need to do more on enforcement and awareness otherwise these precious mammals may become extinct in our lifetime.”

Pangolins are the most traded animals in the world. Việt Nam has two species (Sunda Pangolin and Chinese Pangolin), both critically endangered, meaning they are in imminent threat of becoming extinct in the wild. 

Save Vietnam’s Wildlife (SVW) is a national non-profit organisation founded to pprovide more effective solutions to secure a future for Vietnamese wildlife.

At the core of SVW’s programme in Việt Nam is a partnership with Cúc Phương National Park to support the  Carnivore and Pangolin Conservation Programme (CPCP). — VNS