Dead pangolins are kept at the Hanoi Wildlife Rescue Centre (Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) – More than 400 university studentshave learned about pangolins, the world’s most trafficked mammal, throughactivities held in Hanoi by the Save Vietnam’s Wildlife (SVW) and the students’association of the Vietnam National University of Forestry.
Vietnam is home to the Chinese pangolin (Manispentadactyla) and the Javan pangolin (Manis javanica), both of which arecritically endangered.
At a forum on students’ responsibility towardspangolin conservation, participants were told about growing consumption ofpangolin meat and scales in Vietnam and China, which is fueled by a falsebelief that they treat illnesses, pushing the animal close to extinction.
Students were given information about pangolinsand the threat of deforestation. SVW also described careers in the field ofconservation.
Aside from the forum, students also visited anexhibition featuring photos about pangolin rescue and reintroduction taken byrenowned photographers such as Suzi Eszterhas and SVW staff. The photos reflectboth the “bright and dark sides” of conservation.
SVW Director Nguyen Van Thai said he is happythat many young people are paying attention to wildlife and conservation. Toomany rare animals have become extinct in Vietnam, but the country can stillsave pangolins if efforts are made immediately, he said.
Statistics show that the SVW rescued andreleased more than 200 pangolins to the wild in 2016. All hunting and tradingof the species in Vietnam is illegal, as is the use of products from pangolin.-VNA
VNA
