NINH BÌNH — Save Vietnam’s Wildlife (SVW), in co-operation with Cúc Phương National Park has successfully released 25 Sunda pangolins (Manis javanica) into a safe habitat for the species.

SVW said in a statement that these pangolins were rescued and taken care of by the Carnivore and Pangolin Conservation Programme after being seized from illegal traders by police and rangers. They have undergone a quarantine period of over a month with special care by veterinarians and professional keepers.

The pangolins had been transferred from ranger and police departments in the provinces of Quảng Trị, Cà Mau, Hưng Yên, Thanh Hóa and Hà Nội Wildlife Rescue Centre to SVW.

According to SVW, all pangolins were identified with their own numbers to help recognise individual pangolins before and after release.

SVW’s director Nguyễn Văn Thái said: "Because of the unceasing efforts by authorities to stop the illegal wildlife trade and trafficking, we are rescuing more pangolins every year. This is a good sign for wildlife conservation in Việt Nam. "

Pangolins are the most trafficked animal in the world. Việt Nam is home to two pangolin species, the Sunda Pangolin (Manis javanica) and Chinese Pangolin (Manis pentadactyla), both listed as Critically Endangered on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)’s Red List, and are near extinction.

The rescue centre is still taking care of 85 pangolins before they are released soon.

SVW is a national non-profit organisation in Việt Nam that was founded to stop the extinction and recovery of threatened species in Việt Nam.

SVW’s collaborates with both Cúc Phương National Park and Pù Mát national park to rescue animals from illegal trade and return them to safe habitats.

In Việt Nam, all illegal hunting, trading, poaching and transportation of even one pangolin will be punished with one to five years imprisonment, a fine of between VNĐ500 million (US$21,700) and VNĐ2 billion under the conversion law modified in 2015, and coming into effect from January 1, 2018.

In 2016, SVW successfully released 95 Sunda Pangolins confiscated from the wildlife trade. — VNS