#Run4WildlifeHN held to raise awareness on issue of traditional medicine made from wildlife. Photo courtesy of the organisers

HÀ NỘI – A total of 358 runners from 25 countries joined the annual race #Run4WildlifeHN on Sunday to raise funds and awareness on the problem of traditional medicines made from wildlife.

Sporting Republic partnered with Education for Nature – Vietnam (ENV), the country’s first non-governmental organisation focusing on wildlife conservation, to organise the event.

This run was part of a campaign to raise public awareness on the problem of traditional medicines made from wildlife in Việt Nam, with the support of the US Department of State and the Humane Society International of Australia.

ENV Deputy Director Nguyễn Thị Phương Dung said each day, thousands of rare, endangered wild animals are poached and traded to meet the demand for traditional medicines.

David Shin, from Sporting Republic, stressed that it is the responsibility of each individual to join efforts in dealing with the problem.

ENV have released a film highlighting health risks from dining out at restaurants that sell wildlife meat, and calling on the community not to support such restaurants, reducing the risk of extinction among rare animals and protecting the ecosystem.

The film tells a story about a family that are enjoying their favourite pork dish without knowing that their chef has just slaughtered a civet, and the continuous preparation of dishes that include wildlife without ensuring hygienic procedures may cause pathogens from the civet to spread to the dish that they ordered.

In Việt Nam, many wild animals have been illegally consumed at restaurants, which has not only negatively impacted the natural population of wildlife species, but also increased the risk of transmitting wildlife-origin pathogens to customers. In fact, about 70 per cent of the dangerous infectious diseases over the past 30 years have originated from animals, mainly wild animals. — VNS