Forest wardens in the northern province of Ninh Binh have handed over 22 Sunda pangolins, also known as the Malayan or Java pangolin, to the Carnivore and Pangolin Conservation Program, according to the Save Vietnam’s Wildlife organisation.

On June 19, police in Ninh Binh seized two men and a woman who were illegally transporting the pangolins by train from Hue city, the central province of Thua Thien-Hue to northern localities for selling.

Sunda pangolins

The pangolins, weighing 91kg in total, were on poor health condition as they had been put in tight reticules without food and water for a long travelling time. Some of them even could not eat after being rescued.

Sunda pangolin is listed as an endangered species in Vietnam’s Red Book. The wild population has steadily decreased due to illegal hunting and trading for meat and traditional medicines.

The Carnivore and Pangolin Conservation Program is a joint activity by the Save Vietnam’s Wildlife, a non-profit organisation focusing on protecting and increasing populations of threatened wildlife in Vietnam, and the Cuc Phuong National Park in Ninh Binh.

Source: VNA