Nation to crack down on poultry smuggling

Inspectors check poultry sold at Ha Vi Wholesale Market in Ha Noi's Thuong Tin District. — VNA/VNS Photo Dinh Hue

HA NOI — Viet Nam seeks to end poultry smuggling by 2014, according to Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Thien Nhan.

Meeting online yesterday with leaders from northern provinces, Nhan said that a two-month campaign of drastic measures had seen remarkable success.

On the occasion of Tet holiday, relevant agencies confiscated and destroyed 70,000 kilogrammes of low quality poultry meat and thousands of breeding chickens and poultry eggs.

"Because of our efforts, poultry smuggling has abated and consumers are more conscious about smuggled poultry and related products," he said.

During the meeting, participants also shared their experiences, describing the ingenious tricks often deployed by smugglers, particularly those along border trails in Lang Son, Lao Cai, Quang Ninh, Hai Phong and Ha Giang provinces.

For example, smugglers often stored stockpiles of product from the other side of the border, operated at night or hired locals to transport goods along the mountain trails to avoid inspection. Many also used waterways to evade discovery.

They called for more punitive measures as well as new methods of destroying smuggled poultry. — VNS