Protecting Pangolins

A pilot project of the first ever pangolin protection programme in Uganda has now been completed by our project partners Uganda Conservation Foundation (UCF) – thanks to funding from the David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation (DSWF).

The pilot has formed the initial building blocks for the future development of the Pangolin Conservation Project. The project is formulating a specific policy for protecting pangolins, as well as training staff and drafting standard operating procedures (SOP’s) for the Ugandan Wildlife Authority (UWA) and other operational staff.

Thanks to your support, the project is also locating release zones within the national parks and supporting UWA with proper equipment for rescuing confiscated pangolins.

There is also increasing need to better protect pangolins that are being rescued and recovered in Uganda. Due to limited expert experiece in live handling, some of the rescued pangolins do not make it safely to the wild and die in transit. So the project is also providing the first training on pangolin handling. 

The DSWF funded protection project focuses on conservation of the four pangolin species found in Uganda: the Tree/ White bellied pangolin (Phataginus tricuspis), Giant Pangolin (Smutsia gigantean), Cape/Temminck’s Ground Pangolin (Smutsia temminckii) and the Long tailed- Black Bellied Pangolin (Phataginus tetradactly).

Pangolins are the most trafficked mammal in the world and classified since 2014 as threatened with extinction on the IUCN red list of threatened species. They have recently been reclassified under CITES and now all eight pangolin species are listed under Appendix I - the highest level of protection and recognition that the species is now threatened with extinction.

But hundreds of African pangolins are still being targeted every week to feed the market in Asia, notably China and Vietnam, where pangolin meat is consumed as a delicacy and scales are used in traditional Chinese medicine.

The threat of illegal trafficking is further compounded by habitat loss facing the species.

The David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation is committed to supporting pangolin projects across Africa and Asia to better understand their populations and how best to protect them. From funding initiatives in Africa, to demand reduction campaigns in Vietnam and China, DSWF adopts a holistic approach to protecting these curious creatures, making sure we are fighting wildlife crime from source to market place.

Your vital support is helping us in our work to save these shy and fascinating scaly creatures – thank you for helping pangolins.

Click here to find out more about our work with Pangolins.