THỪA THIÊN-HUẾ — Forest rangers in the central provinces of Quảng Trị and Thừa Thiên-Huế are investigating cases of wild animal trafficking, which is prohibited by Vietnamese law.

Authorities in Quảng Trị today launched an investigation to find the people for attempting to sell 150 snakes left on a pavement in the province’s Lao Bảo Township on Monday afternoon. According to forest rangers, a group of five people fled the scene when the rangers moved in.

The rangers seized bags full of snake bags and released them back into the wild that afternoon.

In Thừa Thiên-Huế, a member of the Pet Huế Group on Sunday bought a monkey and took it to the group’s veterinary centre. According to the man, he had bought the monkey from locals in Phú Bài Township as he was travelling home from work.

The monkey had suffered a wound to one of its legs, possibly caused by a trap. Local forest rangers are hunting for the culprits.

Hunting, transporting, killing, trading and caging wild animals are prohibited under Vietnamese environmental law.

The Pet Huế Group, which is a group working voluntarily to rescue wounded and abused animals in the province, said they would hand the monkey over for rangers to release it back into the wild.

In related news, forest rangers in the province’s Bạch Mã National Park have released a 2kg Sunda pangolin into the jungle.

The rangers seized the pangolin from a local hunter and took it to the park’s rehabilitation centre before its release.

The pangolin is listed as a critically endangered species on the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s red list. — VNS