Carnivore and Pangolin Conservation Programme in Cuc Phuong National Park (Vietnam) redt pangolins (schubdier-miereneter) uit illegale handel circuit

Rescued pangolins head for conservation centre

28-10-2009 Viet Nam News, Vietnam


HA NOI — Two pangolins were transferred to the Carnivore and Pangolin Conservation Programme (CPCP) at the Wildlife Rescue and Conservation Centre in Cuc Phuong National Park last week.

These animals had been rescued by Ha Nam Province’s Forest Protection Department from a bus on Highway 1A in Thanh Liem District.

The pangolins are currently in the CPCP’s quarantine area where they will be carefully monitored for the next 30 days before being moved to longer term enclosures, said Nguyen Van Thai, an officer from the CPCP.

"While one of the pangolins is quite strong and is eating and moving well, the other one is weaker and has many wounds under its scales. This poor condition has most likely resulted from the long time it spent being transported, after it had been taken from its natural habitat," Thai said.

This is the second time the programme has received pangolins rescued by the Forest Protection Department of Ha Nam.

"We have been working closely with them to improve placement options for rescued animals and to ultimately help conserve wildlife in Viet Nam," said Tran Quang Phuong, CPCP manager.

"Unfortunately, not all pangolins that are rescued in Viet Nam are as lucky as these two," added Phuong.

Most recently, on October 19, 59 pangolins were rescued in An Duong District, Hai Phong City, and were then resold back into the trade.

Viet Nam provides habitats for two pangolin species: the Chinese pangolin and the Sunda pangolin. The country is also a significant source, destination and transit route in the illegal pangolin trade.

Pangolins are traded in massive quantities in Viet Nam and many of the rescued animals were trafficked from Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia or Indonesia.

"The impact we have on pangolin conservation in Viet Nam will have an impact on pangolin conservation in the Southeast Asian region," said Phuong.

The CPCP has successfully rescued and rehabilitated confiscated pangolins from the illegal trade for the last three years.

They have also conducted field surveys to further understand the ecological preferences of the pangolins and how to properly distribute the animals back into nature. This information will be useful in the future, when they hope to release the rehabilitated pangolins back into the wild.

The CPCP aims to continue co-operating with the Forest Protection Department rangers so that more rescued animals will be transferred to their centres in the future. — VNS

(Bron: http://vietnamnews.vnagency.com.vn/)