CONSERVATION BREEDING
Giving endangered species a second chance
WHY DO WE NEED CONSERVATION BREEDING?
The illegal wildlife trade is having a devastating impact on wildlife in Vietnam, many of which are endemics. As a result, many species, including Owston’s Civet and Chinese Pangolin, are facing extinction unless urgent action is taken to reverse population declines and provide a pathway to recovery.
We DO NOT support the commercial farming of wildlife
but we DO support conservation breeding programs
It has now become critical that captive conservation breeding programs are established for high priority species to produce captive bred animals that can be used to re-establish and support the recovery of wild populations in Vietnam’s protected areas.
In 2019, over 50 local, regional and international experts attended a four-day conservation planning workshop in Hanoi for the endangered Owston’s Civet to assess the threats to the species face and the in-situ and ex-situ actions needed to avert the extinction of this species.
One of the key recommendations coming from this workshop was that, because of the extremely low number of animals remaining in the wild, there was an urgent need to establish a viable captive population of Owston’s Civets in Vietnam.
SVW is the only organisation in Vietnam that has the necessary skills, experience and expertise in managing this species in captivity and will draw upon this accumulated knowledge, in collaboration with international partner organisations, to expand the current captive program to meet future conservation breeding objectives.
© SVW - Tran Phuong Mai
Highlight achievements
- Pioneering the development of strategies and action plans for the conservation breeding of Owston’s Civet and Pangolins in Vietnam, championing the implementation of these strategies.
- Being the only NGO in Vietnam to implement Owston’s Civet and Chinese Pangolin conservation breeding programs based on the collaboration agreements with Cuc Phuong National Park and Pu Mat National Park.
- Managing the only 14 Chinese Pangolins in Vietnam and 12 Owston’s Civets.
- The conservation breeding program in Cuc Phuong National Park is also the only place to witness initial success in Owston’s Civet and Chinese Pangolin conservation breeding in Vietnam.
- Ongoing plans, raising funds, building capacity towards the implementation of professional conservation breeding programs of Owston’s Civets, Chinese Pangolins, and other globally threatened animals.
