Police recovered two live pangolins that were being held illegally by residents in Cosmo City.

Lieutenant Colonel RR Ryland of the tactical response team, which is based in Diepsloot, told media three suspects were arrested on July 15.

“We are working with the CI [crime intelligence] people and we had an operation after receiving information of the selling of pangolins,” he says.

“The operation was successful. We caught the suspects in Cosmo City.”

Honeydew Police Station spokesperson, Captain Balan Muthan, explains that pangolins are endangered and very few of them are still left in the wild.

“They need to be protected,” he says, before congratulating officers on reacting quickly to the information received and rescuing the animals.

Specialised pangolin ward in at Joburg vet hospital

Africa’s first dedicated pangolin veterinary ward in partnership with Investec and the Johannesburg Wildlife Veterinary Hospital was established in February 2021.

In its first year, the ward had 17 pangolins in its care. Eight were released back into a safe and appropriate habitat where they are currently being monitored.

Co-founder and head veterinarian at the hospital Dr Karen Lourens became a member of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), a specialist group on pangolins, which enables her to globally share her knowledge on the treatment of injured and rescued pangolins.

The group is responsible for the worldwide conservation of pangolins. Lourens and fellow veterinary colleague, Nicci Wright, are members of the group.