With a new fresh year upon us, we are pleased to say we are expanding our network of Civet Champions with a new partner: the Lao Conservation Trust for Wildlife (LCTW). In this introductory blog, written by Amber, LCTW Volunteer & Outreach Coordinator, you can learn about the organisation, their work with Viverrids, and our exciting new partnership:
The Lao Conservation Trust for Wildlife (LCTW) was founded in 2018 and is the only Lao-registered organization that rescues all species of animals native to Laos. We aim to reduce the illegal wildlife trade throughout Laos by educating the local communities, training and assisting the government, and providing alternative incomes to the local community. We rehabilitate and release animals wherever possible and provide lifelong sanctuary for animals that are unsuitable for release. The majority of the animals that pass through our centre are victims of the illegal wildlife trade, which is the fourth largest illegal trade globally, after drugs, counterfeit items, and human trafficking. Laos is a hotspot for this illicit trade due to its location – situated between China, Vietnam, Thailand, Myanmar, and Cambodia. Laos is at the centre of the golden triangle for illegal wildlife trade, and often acts as a transit and distribution hub for these countries.
At least seven viverrid species can be found within Laos, including civets and binturong. Civets are frequently kept as pets and are also popular in the trade for kopi luwak coffee, locally known as khi-ngen, whereas binturongs are used as bush meat and pets. LCTW frequently sees viverrids pass through the centre, with the most commonly seen species including Common Palm Civets, Large Indian Civets, Masked Palm Civets, and Binturong. At the time of writing, we have one elderly binturong permanently cared for at our sanctuary, who is unable to be released due to old age and related health conditions. Most animals that pass through can be released to the wild after a successful rehabilitation.
In mid-2024, we completed an entire move to a new site on the edge of the Phou Khao Khouay
National Park. Due to the unexpected nature of this move, we did not have the time or resources to build multiple rehabilitation enclosures for future arrivals, but had to focus on animals that were currently in our care. Any viverrids that come in currently can use the single temporary pre-release enclosure we built. However, this enclosure is not ideal as it is not entirely escape-proof, and our previous set of civet pups placed here did escape earlier than planned. Fortunately, they were only a few weeks short of their intended release date, and being located at the site within the National Park itself means we have been able to carry out some post-release monitoring in the form of camera traps and supplementary feeding until they are of adult size. We hope to gain support through links with The Civet Project to build a new, purpose-built enclosure for rehabilitating civets onsite.
We will also be working with The Civet Project this year by giving a talk at the upcoming BIAZA
Viverrid conference at Dudley Zoo & Castle, which we will attend virtually. Having the chance to network with key stakeholders and people interested in conservation and welfare, specifically with viverrids, will be a vital opportunity to spread awareness of our work and gain insights that may help with the care of our animals onsite. LCTW also runs the country’s only wildlife crime reporting hotline, where anyone can contact us 24/7 to report any instances they have witnessed. Whilst not all reports make it to the stage of being confiscated by authorities, the data recorded on species and numbers found both dead at markets or being kept as pets may be invaluable in helping to assess the conservation status and severity of the trade. We are hoping to share this data with TCP to collaboratively assist with the “Reverse the Red for Viverrids” initiative and support research in the field.
We thank the staff involved with The Civet Project for welcoming us into this new partnership and helping champion and protect viverrid species worldwide. We are excited to see where this
collaboration takes us in 2025!
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