Sixty-one wild Java pangolins (Manis javanica) have been handed over to Save Vietnam’s Wildlife (SVW) by Thai Binh province’s Police Department.

The pangolins were seized by the Thai Binh police while being illegally trafficked on October 4.

Three of the pangolins were already dead, while one was seriously ill, SVW said in an official release.

A Java pangolin (Photo: Save Vietnam’s Wildlife)

Experts from SVW said the pangolins would now be cared for at the rescue centre in Cuc Phuong National Park before being released back into nature in good health.

According to SVW, 53 pangolins have been returned to the world in the last two months.

Vietnam has two pangolin species, the Sunda Pangolin and the Chinese Pangolin. Both species are critically endangered, meaning they are in imminent threat of becoming extinct in the wild.

Pangolins are the most illegally traded animals in the world.

Vietnam and many states in Africa and Asia have laws that prohibit the capture and trade in pangolins.

Source: VNA