Savannakhet Wildlife Rescue Station welcomes its first rescues

The Savannakhet Wildlife Rescue Station in southern Laos has officially welcomed its first residents. 

Two pangolins and two Southeast Asian softshell turtles were rescued by local law enforcement officers from a truck transporting wildlife through the illegal trade.

The animals were brought to the station for immediate care and stabilisation, before being transferred to our expert friends at the Lao Conservation Trust for Wildlife, for ongoing rehabilitation.

For the officers involved, it was a successful confiscation. For the animals, it was the beginning of a second chance.

And for wildlife protection in Laos, it marks something much bigger.

For the first time, there is now a dedicated facility in southern Laos where rescued animals can be taken immediately, stabilised, cared for, and given the best possible chance of survival in those critical first hours after rescue.

Developed in partnership with the Savannakhet Provincial Agriculture and Environment Office, with the support of Welttierschutzgesellschaft e.V., the station is designed as a first-response facility, where animals can receive urgent care before being transferred to long-term rehabilitation.

It fills a critical gap in the rescue chain, strengthening the entire response to wildlife crime in the region.

The first facility of it's kind in southern Laos

Until now, there was no local facility equipped to receive rescued wildlife, which meant animals often had to wait while specialist rescue teams travelled from the north.

That delay could take hours, sometimes days.

For animals already injured, stressed, or severely compromised by the illegal wildlife trade, that time matters. In many cases, it can be the difference between life and death.

The Savannakhet Wildlife Rescue Station changes that.

Strengthening the response on the ground

A facility like this is only effective if the people responding to wildlife crime are equipped to use it.

Long before these animals arrived at the rescue station, law enforcement officers need to identify wildlife crime, confiscate the animals and provide immediate care to the animals.

Recognising this, Free the Bears developed the Wildlife Care Course for Frontline First Responders, a hands-on training programme designed to build practical skills within law enforcement across Laos.

In 2025 alone, 68 officers completed the course, gaining experience in wildlife welfare, safe handling and emergency response.

By pairing the opening of the Savannakhet Wildlife Rescue Station with this training, officers in southern Laos are able to provide meaningful care in the hours that follow a rescue.

A second chance for wildlife

The arrival of the first rescued animals at the Savannakhet Wildlife Rescue Station is an important milestone.

When wildlife is intercepted from the illegal trade in southern Laos, there is now somewhere for them to go, prepared to care for them.

For these pangolins and turtles, once destined for unimaginable future in the illegal wildlife trade, it meant a second chance at life.