KON TUM — The Centre for Rescue, Conservation and Creatures Development of Chư Mom Ray National Park in the Central Highlands province of Kon Tum released 27 wild animals in their natural habitat on Thursday.

They include nine monkeys, 11 turtles, pythons and rattlesnakes which were cared for at the centre since 2016.

These animals had either been returned voluntarily by people or rescued after the police busted cases of animal trafficking, said Trần Quốc Tuấn, the centre’s deputy director. 

Over the past two years, the centre has released 153 wild animals.

Dead sea turtles seized

In a relevant development, the People’s Court of Nha Trang City in southcentral coastal province of Khánh Hòa opened a trial and returned the documents for further investigating a case of violating regulations on the protection of endangered species.

Hoàng Tuấn Hải, 46, was accused of collecting and trafficking 10 tonnes of sea turtles in late 2014.

Hải was also subjected to criminal liability for stockpiling more than 4,380 sea turtles and nearly 4,000 giant seashells for commercial purposes.

According to the indictment of the People’s Procurary of Nha Trang City, police had been keeping an eye on Hải since December 2014, and they found him hiding a lot of sea turtles at a farmer’s breeding area in Phước Đồng Commune.

Hải admitted that he had been collecting dead sea turtles from fishermen since 2010 to make art products and were selling them without a licence.

Upon further inspection, inspectors from the provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development seized another 5,050 dead sea turtles at Hải’s warehouse. — VNS