Save Vietnam’s Wildlife

Save Vietnam’s Wildlife (SVW) was established to secure a future for Vietnam’s wildlife. SVW protects and increases populations of threatened species through rescue, rehabilitation and release, as well as law enforcement, research and education.

At A Glance

Save Vietnam’s Wildlife (SVW) was established to secure a future for Vietnam’s wildlife. SVW protects and increases populations of threatened species through rescue, rehabilitation and release, as well as law enforcement, research and education.

Pangolins have become the most frequently seized mammal in Asia’s illegal wildlife trade – pangolin meat and scales are used for culinary and medicinal purposes and they fetch ever higher prices as species populations decline across Southeast Asia. Save Vietnam’s Wildlife works with small carnivores and pangolins in their centre and are committed to tackling the illegal wildlife trade, so that fewer wild animals are in need of their assistance.  It does this through conservation education, outreach and advocacy with local communities and officials. It works closely with law enforcement officers and decision-makers to increase protection using international treaties such as CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) to step up law enforcement and penalties within Vietnam. These treaties also provide guidelines for training for law enforcers in wildlife handling, so when animals are seized, fewer die or are injured as a result of mistakes.

SVW are also engaged in conservation research projects looking at distributions of pangolins in Vietnam (both of the Sunda pangolin and the very rare Chinese pangolin) and developing mechanisms to track the pangolins in the wild to learn more about their ecology. SVW are also interested in and committed to animal welfare and have made significant progress in the way in which pangolins are kept in captivity, creating appropriate feed and feeding mechanisms for them, as well as ensuring they have appropriate surfaces, cage heights, and sleeping boxes.

Synchronicity Earth has supported SVW since 2015 for its work on pangolin conservation.