End the Killing of Elephants for VN Ivory Trade

We are glad to share the most recent highlights of ENV’s efforts to end the killing of African elephants fueled by the demand for ivory products in Vietnam.

In the first quarter of 2025, our Wildlife Crime Unit recorded over 470 new wildlife crime cases, uncovering more than 1,400 individual violations. Of these, 39 violations were related to ivory and accounted for over 600 pieces of ivory. All these ivory-related violations occurred online, with Facebook being the primary hub for this illegal activity in Vietnam. In 2024 alone, we recorded the sale of over 206,000 live animals, parts, and products, including ivory, on Facebook.

To confront this, we’ve taken our efforts a step further by actively involving the community through ENV’s Cyber Crime Day: held on the third Wednesday of each month, this initiative brings together volunteers and members of the public across Vietnam to combat wildlife crime on social media, particularly on Facebook. Starting in March, we began sharing ten links of the most serious violators for our followers to report directly to Facebook. In the first two editions, public participation led to eleven of the most violating accounts or groups advertising a variety of endangered species and their products being deactivated.

At the same time, our Wildlife Warriors continued their on-the-ground work through close collaboration with law enforcement and the criminal justice system.

A notable case since our last report involved the arrest of a woman, in April, by the Economic Department of the Hanoi City Police, caught while attempting to sell ivory pieces for 5.5 kg, and four ivory pendants. Following further investigation, police identified the supplier of the illicit goods, in whose residence an additional 1.1 kg of ivory was confiscated. Remarkably, the woman had already been arrested in 2018 for smuggling 2.38 kg of ivory products. In that circumstance, she was handed down a 12-month suspended sentence with 24 months’ probation (Case ref. 12083/ENV). This time, she will face prosecution.

On the prosecution front, in January 2025, an online seller was sentenced to five years in prison by the Thuong Tin District Court for trafficking 24.1kg of elephant tusks seized in Hanoi by the Hanoi Police. Upon inspecting the subject house, authorities discovered and confiscated an additional 21.8 kg of ivory tusks (Case ref. 19274/ENV).

As part of ENV’s ongoing commitment to protect African elephants by reducing demand for ivory products, in April we released our 59^th Public Service Announcement (PSA), titled “Follow the money”, which aims to help the public understand the connection between the seemingly innocent act of buying ivory jewelry or carvings and the killing of African elephants. The film follows a young woman browsing on her phone, casually scrolling through jewelry options. From the comfort of her sofa, she selects an ivory bracelet, imagining herself wearing it at an upcoming glamorous party. As the young woman clicks “buy now”, she experiences a horrific vision of an elephant’s murder, coming to understand in an instant where the ivory bracelet came from and how her purchase makes her complicit in the murder. 

Your donations make successes like these possible. Thank you for standing with us in the fight to protect elephants and all of Vietnam’s wildlife.

Until next time,

The ENV Team