Help End the Illegal Wildlife Trade in Vietnam

In the first couple months this year we have been busy, with 448 live animals rescued from the illegal wildlife trade in January and February 2022. We finished 2021 on a high, with more than 3,700 wildlife crime cases handled that year, the highest number we’ve ever recorded! All of these successes were possible thanks to the generous donations we received from you, our supporters. So, thank you.

Last year, we helped facilitate the rescue of 1,058 live wild animals from the illegal wildlife trade, largely thanks to 2,448 cases being reported by the public through ENV’s Wildlife Crime Hotline. We are encouraged by the awareness and commitment the public has displayed in their frequent reporting, with 9.3 reports received on average each day. Overt ownership of wildlife in Vietnam is becoming increasingly difficult, as a mobilized public not only knows it is harmful to biodiversity, but also knows how to report such crimes. The species rescued since our last GlobalGiving project report include, Asiatic black bears, otters, macaques, snakes, leopard cats, birds, pangolins, turtles and tortoises, among other wildlife.

In February 2022, our convincing efforts to some bear farmers in Binh Duong province finally paid off with one big transfer of 9 bears from 3 separate facilities. All were transferred to Ninh Binh Bear Sanctuary, where they will live the rest of their lives free from a cage, in semi-nature. We are impressed with the transition Binh Duong has made from a prior hotspot province, into an advocate for bears. Another transfer in December 2021 of a bear from a farm in Son La province, also to Ninh Binh Bear Sanctuary, saw Son La become the latest bear bile farm-free province in Vietnam! We look forward to welcoming more bear farm-free provinces as we close in on an end to bear bile farming.

This year, being the Year of the Tiger, is important in conservation work by shining a spotlight upon a critically endangered species that is now functionally extinct in Vietnam. In January 2022, we had a meeting with journalists regarding the issue of illegal tiger farming in Vietnam, to try to raise the importance of the issue in the media. There was a particular focus on non-commercial wildlife facilities in Vietnam, which allow for the potential laundering of tigers into the illegal wildlife trade. Our policy and legislation team made the case for stronger policies in relation to such facilities.

Our team also held a prosecution training session in December with Lang Son province. It was attended by 20 prosecutors and staff, as well as an additional 80 prosecutors from 11 outlying districts in the province. ENV worked to familiarize prosecutors with wildlife protection laws, and offered guidance on applying them to real cases. The team has continued to push for stricter handling of wildlife cases, and upheld correspondence with particular wildlife trafficking hotspot regions.

A key prosecution from December 2021 included 14 years in prison for a rhino horn trafficker who was attempting to smuggle 126 kg of rhino horn into Noi Bai Airport in Hanoi. This was the biggest prison sentence ever given in Vietnam for a wildlife crime. Another notable case was 12 years in prison, split between three subjects that were caught with two pygmy lorises, a common palm civet, and a squirrel, which they had hunted from the forest. A subject also received a strict sentence of 10 years for transporting 13 rare turtles, although the man who arranged the shipment remains unknown. This was a prime example to show the public that even low-scale involvement in wildlife crime is not worth the risk.

Turtles are one of the most commonly traded animals in the illegal wildlife trade. In December 2021, there was a seizure of 122 turtles of five species from a subject in Ho Chi Minh City, who is now awaiting prosecution. This subject intended to distribute the turtles among smaller-scale street sellers who operate in the city. ENV’s efforts to combat the turtle trade continue, especially in HCMC, where turtles are commonly sold for ‘release’ in pagodas. We have our street vendor campaign which is closely tied with our pagoda turtle campaign, where we work closely with pagodas to prevent this practice.

One key aspect of combatting turtle and other wildlife crimes is public awareness and crime deterrence campaigns from our communications team. Our messages for wildlife protection feature consistently on TV channels, radio networks, news articles and online on social media through viral ad campaigns. We also released our ENV November/December Newsletter: Wildlife Watch. We will soon be releasing our January/February newsletter, so keep an eye out for more updates from the field!

Thank you again, for your willingness to take action which keeps us fighting against Vietnam’s illegal wildlife trade.