Pangolins: Until they walk free.

My name is René Eckhardt, and I have a deep passion and an enormous love for pangolins.

I’m reaching out to you because I need your help to make a real difference in the lives of these incredible, completely harmless little animals.

Every day, more pressure is being placed on South Africa’s pangolin population. Although pangolins are covered in an incredible natural armour, it means very little in the face of greed and the relentless demand for their scales.

Pangolins are illegally trafficked and killed for their scales, which are used in traditional medicinal practices in countries such as China and Vietnam. Yet their scales have no proven medicinal value. They are made of keratin — the same protein found in our hair and fingernails.

When a pangolin is confiscated in South Africa, it is almost always found in a terrible condition — emaciated, traumatised, suffering from deep-tissue abscesses, organ failure and open wounds. What follows is a long and intensive journey of healing, rehabilitation and preparation for a return to the wild.

The rehabilitat...