Help 30 Women Fight Wildlife Crime in Vietnam

Our crime fighting women have lots to update you on in the fight to end Vietnam’s illegal wildlife trade since our last report! In the first three quarters of the year, from January to September 2022, the ENV Wildlife Crime Unit has handled 2,600 cases, consisting of over 6,100 violations. These have resulted in the rescue of over 2,100 live wild animals, already exceeding the total for last year! The species have included macaques, lorises, pangolins, bears, otters, leopard cats, squirrels, and various turtle and tortoise, snake, lizard, and bird species, amongst other wildlife. These successes have all been thanks to your generous support of our team of wildlife crime fighters. Some key cases these past few months include:

• 7 Asiatic black bears transferred from farm in Phuc Tho, the bear bile farming hotspot of Hanoi, by the farmer who had been caught with 350 vials of bear bile. 
• From June through to August, our Wildlife Protection Volunteers helped to monitor 584 pagodas in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, checking the premises for captive wildlife. This resulted in the rescue of over 50 turtles from pagodas, where they had been the object of ‘release’ practices.
• An increase in bird cases as authorities crack down on illegal hunting and trapping of wild birds following a directive issued by the Deputy Prime Minister in May 2022 – cases include dismantling of nets, confiscation of traps and other equipment and the confiscation of hundreds of wild birds.
• 81 sea turtle products were confiscated from two souvenir shops in Kien Giang, following information provided by ENV to the Environmental Police. 
• In October, 2 otters were confiscated in Bac Lieu province following a girl posting photos of the otters on her Facebook, which was reported by a member of the public. That same week, 2 otters were voluntarily transferred to a rescue center by a zoo in Lam Dong that was unsure about the legality of the wildlife they had received from a restaurant. 

Policy & legislation team

In July, ENV held a prosecution training with participants including 33 judges from Dak Lak Provincial Court, and 15 from surrounding district, city and town courts. This was the first time ENV held a prosecution training at the court in Dak Lak, providing them with vital insights in prosecution and punishment of wildlife crime in Dak Lak and nationwide. Having handled over 25,000 cases since our crime unit began logging cases, ENV can offer specific guidance to courts on varous issues that may arise when dealing with wildlife crime. 

In September, ENV held a media workshop in Hanoi regarding our proposal for a ‘clean list’ of wildlife that can be commercially farmed in Vietnam. This list would exclude any species that are endangered, do not breed or grow well in captivity or who’s breeding would be harmful to wild populations of the species. This clarity of what can be bred will make it easier to regulate animals that cannot be bred. The workshop resulted in 29 news articles and was featured in 2 TV segments, generating interest and discussion around the ‘clean list’ proposal.

Key global trafficking news & notable prosecution:

• On June 22^nd, a subject was arrested from transnational wildlife smuggling ring in Da Nang, in connection to imports of around VND 300 billion (almost $13 million) worth of wildlife products.
• In August, three high-level Vietnamese traffickers were arrested for smuggling pangolin scales from Nigeria and have been connected to many other shipments of ivory, rhino horn, and other wildlife parts.
• On July, 4 subjects were given a total of 18 years in prison between them for trafficking nearly a tonne of pangolin scales, estimated at the value of VND 1.3 million (around $55,570)
• A VND 500 million (around $21,350) administrative fine was imposed upon a restaurant for possessing live wildlife and wildlife meat
• 20 years in prison was issued between 6 subjects for transporting red-shanked doucs’ vital body parts, amongst other wildlife, in Thua Thien Hue province. 

Key communications:

In July, ENV collaborated with the Department of Information and Communication (DIC) in Dak Lak to hold a media roundtable meeting about wildlife and ivory crime, with the participation of 32 local journalists and reporters. This issue is especially pertinent to Dak Lak province, the elephant ivory hotspot of Vietnam. The event aimed to increase media coverage on the ivory issue, promoting the role of the media in wildlife conservation efforts. Following this event and the wider campaign in the province, the ENV Wildlife Crime Hotline was added to the Dak Lak Community Portal Website for users to report ivory and other wildlife crime to ENV.

In October, the DIC sent a text message to their audience of 2.17 million subscribers in Dak Lak, calling on the public not to consume ivory products, and to report all types of wildlife crime to ENV’s hotline. The text message read: "Do not trade or consume ivory products. Report violations related to ivory and other wildlife to the toll-free hotline 1800-1522". This demonstrates how the province continues to coordinate with ENV against this issue, raising public awareness and enhancing public participation in monitoring and reporting crimes.

We released the first issue of our Wildlife Crime Bulletin for 2022 in July, highlighting the need to target major trafficking networks, the proposal for a ‘clean list’, the rise of internet crime and other important developments concerning Vietnam’s illegal wildlife trade. This was followed by our Law Enforcement Responsiveness Report 2021 in September, looking back at the handling of publicly reported wildlife crimes from 62 provinces across Vietnam last year. It showcased the provinces that have been exemplary in responding to wildlife crimes reported from the public, while also ensuring provincial leaders are aware of how well their province is performing on a national scale.

Our 52^nd public service announcement (PSA) was released in September, “Do not expose yourself to wildlife diseases”, highlighting the risk of zoonotic disease spreading from restaurants serving and keeping wildlife. It concludes with the message, “You don’t have to eat wildlife to expose yourself to zoonotic diseases. Avoid restaurants and other establishments where wildlife is kept and consumed.”

ENV printed and released 1,500 copies of the 2022 Vietnam Tortoise and Freshwater Turtle Identification Book. Identifying turtle species is vital in ensuring the law is correctly applied based on the species, and that the turtles are handled based on their ecological needs prior to transfer to a rescue center or release. The book supports authorities, rescue centers and other institutions in identifying 26 species of tortoise and freshwater turtle that are native to Vietnam.

ENV’s public awareness campaigns have continued across social media, TV, radio and news outlets. Between January and September 2022, there have been 536 broadcasts on national radio, featuring criminal deterrence messaging, and raising awareness on the issue of traditional medicine made from wildlife.

We would like to thank you for making all of our work possible, enabling vital actions by our team in the fight against wildlife crime in Vietnam! 

In the first quarter of the year, our crime fighting women have continued to make headway towards the goal to end Vietnam’s illegal wildlife trade. Recent progress includes several updates on bear bile farming, prosecution trainings and media conferences, and the continued operation of our Wildlife Crime Hotline, which has resulted in the seizure of various native and exotic species.

We have seen the rescue of more than 291 animals from the illegal wildlife trade thanks to reports to our Wildlife Crime Hotline. The species included macaques, leopard cats, bears, otters, pangolins, and various turtle, lizard and bird species, among other wildlife. Stats are pending for April and May, and June isn’t over yet, but we have many updates from the field that have shown the great progress made by our crime fighting team these past few months.

First, we’ll place the spotlight on bear bile farming and the recent updates contributing towards its eradication which took place in June:

• 350 bear bile vials were seized from a bear owner keeping 7 bears in Phuc Tho district, Hanoi. This is a significant case following efforts by ENV and police, targeting the area where 93% of Hanoi’s captive bears are kept. This seizure shows the bear owners cannot keep getting away with illicit bile extraction from the many bears they keep.
• 3 bear cubs were seized in Dien Bien in June following investigations by provincial Environmental Police, they successfully arrested a trafficker in connection to these crimes. The cubs were likely caught on Vietnam’s border with Laos and they have been safely rehomed to the Bear Rescue Center in Tam Dao to grow up free from small cage walls.
• An illegal, non-microchipped bear was discovered again on a monitoring mission by World Animal Protection in April 2022, this resulted in the transfer of the illegal bear to the Tam Dao Rescue Center in June. The bear had been first discovered a year prior, but was reported to have died. We worked closely with authorities to ensure a confiscation was made this time round.
• We received a report from a member of the public about an Asiatic black bear being kept in Son La province, which was recently announced to be bear bile farm-free as of December 2021. This was a surprise, as it turned out a bear owner still had their bear, which had expired papers from 2007. ENV spoke with the authorities and the owner, who luckily agreed to do the right thing and voluntarily transfer their bear to Tam Dao Rescue Center!
• Binh Phuoc became the latest bear bile farm-free province on Friday, with the last bear being handed over to Free the Bears in Cat Tien National Park! We congratulate them for their efforts securing this transfer and contributing to our shared mission of ending this industry.

The 350 vials of bear bile seized have set an important precedent for the handling of bear crimes in Vietnam, being the biggest seizure and the first one ever from a Phuc Tho bear owner. This is especially relevant since Phuc Tho is the biggest bear bile farming hotspot in all of Vietnam. The confiscation of an unchipped bear in Phuc Tho also showed that the law must be adhered to despite the grip the industry has on this district. We hope this sets the tone the way future cases are handled, and we will be following this bear bile case closely through to prosecution.

Speaking of which, our legal team continues to assist on various wildlife crime cases, as well as working to influence application of or amendments to wildlife protection law and policy. This has included:

• A proposal for producing a ‘clean list’ for regulating commercial farming, as opposed to a list of prohibited species. The idea is it would be easier for authorities to check and monitor for what is there, rather than what is not there. It stands to be seen whether this ‘clean list’ will be adopted by regulatory authorities. 
• Sending correspondence to farmers, to ensure they are aware of current farming regulations and are following the law in terms of farming wildlife. We also offer them a point of contact with our legal team if they are ever unsure of the laws.
• Prosecution training with procuracies in Hanoi on February 24^th, Nghe An on April 22^nd, and Quang Ninh on April 29^th, with over 175 attendees in total. The training involved a review of key wildlife protection laws and an open discussion with prosecutors on the difficulties they face in applying the law in real-life cases. Our presentation and feedback drew upon the many wildlife crime cases our legal team monitor and handle on a daily basis, offering a blueprint on the most effective application of existing laws for particular cases.
• Bui Thi Ha, Vice Director and Head of Policy and Legislation, represented ENV at the media briefing on the bear bile farming in Hanoi, alongside Bear Coalition partners: Four Paws and World Animal Protection.

Beyond communicating with prosecutors, the media, farm owners, and relevant authorities, our messaging to the public has continued to be just as important in ending the illegal wildlife trade by tackling its driving force – consumer demand. We have been targeting this through continued awareness campaigns on social media, TV, radio, interviews, volunteer events and other mediums as they arise. Our communications team have been especially busy working on the production of three Public Service Announcements (PSAs) which will be aired on around 60 national TV channels in Vietnam.

The PSA which has already been released this month shows a step-by-step animation of the public reporting wildlife crimes to ENV, resulting in live animal rescues. Another highlights the legal repercussions of selling and eating illegal wildlife meat at restaurants, while the other highlights health risks of eating at a restaurant that serves wildlife, since even if not directly consuming wildlife, there are risks of cross-contamination.

The goal of these informative, and in some cases amusing, PSAs is for consumers to make informed decisions on what they purchase and consume by being aware of the harms it places on themselves, the environment and their loved ones. In March, we re-released our “Tiger King” PSA which addressed tiger bone glue crimes by subverting the idea that it is an honorable gift to bestow upon someone of status.

Thanks to reports to our hotline from a mobilized public, the decisive actions from law enforcement in responding to reports and arresting wildlife criminals, and strong actions by prosecutors, some other notable cases have included:

• Two small-clawed otters voluntarily transferred in wake of police investigation, which likely alerted the owner that possession of protected wildlife would result in legal action.
• 200 red-whiskered bulbuls confiscated from a village where residents frequently sold and bought birds. The local authorities agreed to put together a plan to educate the community to no longer participate in this practice and help protect wildlife instead.
• 1 year, 6 months handed to bear trafficker caught transporting an Asiatic black bear on the back of his motorbike in Lai Chau
• 30 months in prison for subject keeping 3 tiger cubs in a basement in Nghe An
• Two subjects receive 6 years in prison each for poaching 5 douc langurs
• 217 million VND fine handed out to jewelry shop owner who was selling 27 ivory bracelets in February 2022

ENV wants to extend our thanks to you for supporting our wonderful team of crime fighters in the many programs and approaches we have implemented to combat, quell and eventually end the illegal wildlife trade in Vietnam!