Wildlife appeal · Pangolin conservation
How to Help Pangolins
Pangolins rescued from trafficking need skilled care and a safe future. Help turn concern into carefully assessed support.
Sunda pangolin photographed in North Sumatra, Indonesia on 22 February 2019. This species photograph does not document a confiscation, named rescue or WARN-funded project.
Photo: Frendi Apen Irawan / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0). Commons-generated thumbnail; no further image edits. Display may be cropped. Source CC BY-SA 4.0
- Understand the animal’s needs and the proposed support
- Choose a one-off or monthly gift, or share the evidence
- Read recipient selection and grant records before giving
In brief
Pangolins face illegal hunting and trade, while confiscated animals can require specialist rehabilitation. This appeal seeks contributions towards assessed pangolin welfare and conservation needs. WARN will publish recipient decisions and grant payments; no gift amount guarantees a particular rescue or release.
By WARN Research & Conservation TeamLast updated
Choose informed support
Support pangolins
Pangolins rescued from trafficking need skilled care and a safe future. Help turn concern into carefully assessed support.
Before you give
Your gift supports this appeal’s stated purpose. Activities described on this page are eligible or proposed support; published grant records show what has been agreed, paid or reported.
Choose an amount and frequency you can afford. No donation amount guarantees a particular rescue, treatment or release.
WARN is a UK community interest company, number 17298990. Gift Aid is unavailable.
Support pangolins
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Your gift supports this appeal’s purpose. Grants depend on assessed needs, agreed budgets and available funds.
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8
Species described by the IUCN specialist group
Asia & Africa
Native range across two continents
Specialist
Care and release assessment
Threatened
All eight assessed species
Species context checked 8 September 2026. Conservation classifications describe a species or population; they do not measure WARN’s work.
How to support pangolins
Gifts selected for this appeal are intended for eligible pangolin welfare and conservation. Proposed awards must identify the species, responsible organisation, location and evidence of need. No completed WARN rescue or confirmed recipient is claimed on this page.
- 1
Read the purpose and assessment questions
Explore the needs below and read grant selection and where your money goes. A species photograph or an outside organisation’s report does not establish a WARN grant.
- 2
Choose a gift that suits you
Select this appeal, choose one-off or monthly and enter an amount. Review the purpose, currency and frequency before continuing to Stripe. Available wallets depend on your device.
- 3
Follow the published records
Keep your payment receipt and use the grant register for recipient decisions and payment records when published. A receipt confirms your gift; it is not evidence that a grant has already reached a field team.
- 4
Share the evidence
Share a sourced pangolin story with its date and location. Distinguish live-animal rescues from seizures of scales, and keep the original organisation’s name attached.
Why pangolin rescue needs specialist support
Pangolins are mammals with keratin scales and highly specialised feeding habits. The IUCN SSC Pangolin Specialist Group identifies illegal hunting and trade as major threats. Live animals, meat and scales move through different markets; a seizure weight cannot simply be presented as a count of animals rescued.
Species and location matter. Sunda pangolins occur in Southeast Asia, while Indian pangolins are relevant to Pakistan and the wider Indian subcontinent. African species face their own conservation pressures. A credible care or release proposal needs the correct species identity and lawful placement, rather than treating every pangolin as interchangeable.
Save Vietnam’s Wildlife documents quarantine, recovery and assessment before releasing confiscated animals. Its keeper accounts also show how much individual attention rehabilitation can require. These are examples of that organisation’s work, not WARN results. This appeal focuses on assessing realistic needs and publishing what support is agreed.
Evidence: IUCN SSC Pangolin Specialist Group — Species, threats and classifications. External organisations describe their own work; citing them does not identify them as a WARN grantee.
Why trafficking creates complex welfare needs
Capture and illegal trade
Pangolins are hunted for local use and illicit trade in meat and scales. Reducing that pressure requires work beyond an individual rescue, including informed enforcement and protection of wild populations.
Stress, injury and unsuitable feeding
Confiscated pangolins may arrive with health problems related to transport, poor feeding or injury. A general animal shelter may not have the specialised expertise and conditions they need.
Uncertain release prospects
Recovery alone is not a release decision. Specialists must assess the animal and its destination, the relevant permissions and the likelihood that the original threats remain. Support should include follow-up where the project requires it.
Species, geography and donor context
| Asian species | Chinese, Indian, Philippine and Sunda pangolins |
|---|---|
| African species | Giant, white-bellied, black-bellied and Temminck’s pangolins |
| Diet | Primarily ants and termites; rehabilitation requires appropriate expertise |
| Conservation status | Categories differ by species; all eight on the specialist group’s list are threatened |
| WARN reporting | Recipient and payment records will be published when available |
What support could this appeal make possible?
Possible awards would be assessed against the animal’s needs and the operator’s ability to deliver and report. These are proposed areas of support, not priced rescue packages.
Focus1
Authorised intake and veterinary care
Consider specific gaps in intake capacity, examinations, treatment and suitable recovery conditions. A proposal must identify who is responsible for the animals and what permissions apply.
Focus2
Rehabilitation and assessed release
Consider husbandry expertise, appropriate diets, facilities, release-site assessment and follow-up. A funded activity should have a clear welfare purpose even where release is not possible.
Focus3
Prevention and habitat protection
Consider targeted work addressing capture, trade or loss of suitable habitat, with a stated audience or site and a method for evaluating progress.
Questions to ask before supporting a pangolin project
The rescue itself is only one part of the decision. Good assessment connects immediate welfare with the animal’s next safe step.
- Which species and which animals?
- Confirm species identity and a documented lawful handover. Avoid translating a seizure of scales into a claim that live pangolins have been saved.
- Who can provide specialist care?
- Review the care team, veterinary arrangements, diet and accommodation plan, including capacity for animals that recover slowly.
- How will outcomes be recorded?
- Separate intake, treatment, survival, release and post-release monitoring. Each describes a different stage; a donation should not be presented as guaranteeing them all.
These are WARN’s assessment priorities for a proposed award. Read the recipient-selection policy.
How to help without donating
Report suspected trade through appropriate channels
Preserve the original public listing link and contact the relevant wildlife authority or platform. Avoid buying a pangolin to try to rescue it or arranging your own transport.
Share the right evidence
Use the source date and distinguish live animals from body parts. Avoid repeating a rolling 'one million in the last decade' claim without the study period.
Make specialist knowledge easier to find
Share the IUCN specialist group’s species information and the responsible operator’s account of a rescue. Link this appeal separately so people can review WARN’s funding process.
How would support reach pangolins?
Gifts selected for this appeal are intended for eligible pangolin welfare and conservation. Proposed awards must identify the species, responsible organisation, location and evidence of need. No completed WARN rescue or confirmed recipient is claimed on this page.
WARN is building its grant-making work. Before an award, an organisation’s authority, welfare standards, budget and ability to report must be assessed. Recipient decisions and grant payments will be published as records become available.
The activities described on this page are eligible needs to assess. They are not a statement that WARN has already paid for a rescue, clinic, patrol or sanctuary place. A suggested gift amount does not guarantee a fixed outcome.
How responsible support works
From a gift to a grant
This is WARN’s grant-making process. Check the published records below for this appeal’s actual progress.
Assess the need
Review an organisation’s identity, local capacity, welfare practices, current request and proposed budget.
Agree the support
Choose a suitable purpose within the appeal, agree the budget and set proportionate reporting requirements.
Record the payment
Publish the recipient, amount, purpose and payment status when a grant record is available.
Follow the results
Report what the recipient can evidence, with dates and limitations. An approved grant and a completed outcome are different stages.
Grant register
Approved commitments and completed payments are different stages. Public records identify recipients and purposes without exposing donor details, banking information or sensitive wildlife locations.
Records not yet published
A reconciled financial summary and individual grant records have not yet been published here. This is a reporting status, not a statement that income, expenditure or grants are zero. Contact WARN for information about your gift.
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Open this pageYour questions answered
Pangolins: frequently asked questions
Why do pangolins need specialist rehabilitation?
Can all rescued pangolins be released?
Does a scales seizure mean pangolins were rescued?
Does this appeal fund a named pangolin?
How do I donate to help pangolins?
How can I help pangolins from the UK?
Can I give monthly to help pangolins?
How does my donation reach pangolins?
Is this Gift Aid eligible or US tax-deductible?
Can I help without donating?
Help pangolins with care and clarity
Read the proposed support, choose a contribution you can afford, or share the original evidence.
Help pangolins