Environment
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| Otters rescued from illegal traders. — Photo courtesy of Education for Nature Vietnam (ENV) |
HCM CITY — As many as 447 wild animals were rescued in Việt Nam in the first six months of the year, according to Education for Nature Vietnam (ENV).
ENV, a local NGO focused on the conservation of nature and the environment, recorded 1,645 wildlife-related violations in the first half of this year.
Of the total, 1,111 cases were reported via the EVN’s hotline for wildlife protection 1800 1522.
The rescued animals included species of turtles, monkeys, birds, wildcats, bears, otters and others.
Fifty-seven per cent were endangered and rare turtle species, and 18 per cent were monkeys.
They were voluntarily handed over by residents or rescued from people who had violated the law.
On June 17, two otters were found at a private residence in Bình Phước Province’s Chơn Thành District thanks to posted photos of the animals on the video-sharing network TikTok.
In May, authorities in HCM City discovered seven violations related to illegal wildlife trade and captivity.
They rescued 58 wild animals, including 52 turtles, five birds and one monkey. The animals were handed over to a wildlife rescue centre.
Last year, ENV recorded 2,907 violations, nearly double that of the previous year. Of these, 1,956 cases involved illegal advertisements for wildlife and 863 cases of illegal captivity.
Reports about wildlife violations can be sent to hotline 1800-1522 or to email hotline@fpt.vn.
The ENV’s Wildlife Protection Department received an average of 10 reports per day last year via the hotline, nearly double the 2019 figure.
The free-of-charge hotline 1800-1522 was launched in 2005 to receive reports about unlawful activities related to wildlife violations. ENV staff transfer the information to authorised agencies to handle violations and closely follow how the violations are handled until the final results are available. — VNS
Large shipment of suspected rhino horns ĐÀ NẴNG — Customs officers in the central city of Đà Nẵng last week have discovered a large shipment of 138kg of animal horn and 3.1 tonnes of animal bones suspected to be of rhino and rare and precious wildlife, imported from South Africa at the city’s Tiên Sa Port. The shipment owner had falsely declared the imported goods were wood. Local customs agencies are coordinating with competent agencies to verify and handle the suspected wildlife items. Rhino horns are strictly banned from being traded in, imported to or exported from Việt Nam as the rhino and many other wild animals are on the list of endangered wildlife protected by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), to which the country has been a party since 1994. — VNS |
