Protect Endangered Wildlife Against Exploitation

During the first quarter of 2023, our team of wildlife warriors continued to work hard with members of the public and in support of law enforcement authorities to fight wildlife crime. In this quarter, our team has already handled 819 wildlife crime cases and facilitated the rescue of 994 live wild animals from illegal wildlife trade and exploitation. Among them were bears, Asian small-clawed otters, pangolins, leopard cats, and a variety of macaques, turtles, tortoises, lorises, and wild bird species.

Bears

As of the end of April 2023, there are a total of 247 bears remaining on bile farms in Vietnam – a 94% reduction since government efforts began to phase out bear bile farming in 2005. During this quarter, nine bears have been transferred from bile farms to sanctuaries in 2023, six of which came from two bile farms in Hanoi’s bear farming hotspot Phuc Tho district. Another of these bears was the last remaining bear on a bile farm in Long An province, earning Long An the title of Vietnam’s 43^rd bear farm-free province and the first of 2023.

Elephant Ivory

ENV logged a total of 90 ivory cases during this quarter. In particular, during a joint enforcement campaign between ENV and local authorities, more than 300 suspected ivory products have been confiscated from souvenir and jewelry shops in Dak Lak province, a popular tourist destination in the Central Highlands. In addition, as part of ENV’s efforts to reduce consumer demand and sale of ivory products in Dak Lak, ENV organized an ivory identification training for relevant law enforcement agencies, where officials were trained on how to identify real and fake ivory products, as well as on the use of relevant legal provisions in handling ivory-related violations. During this quarter, ENV also provided support to law enforcement authorities during their investigation and prosecution of a subject who was involved in smuggling 490 kg of ivory into Vietnam. In February 2023, the subject was sentenced to 13 years in prison and given an additional VND 50 million fine.

Pangolins

In March 2023, Kon Tum City Police confiscated 200 g of pangolin scales from an online seller that ENV had been following since they first advertised tiger claws on Facebook in 2018. The subject was arrested. In another case, a live Sunda pangolin was confiscated from an online seller thanks to a public report to our Wildlife Crime Hotline. The subject was selling various live animals online, and ENV continued to monitor their activity and provide information to the police, eventually resulting in the confiscation of the pangolin and the arrest of the seller.

Primates, turtles & other illegal ‘pets’

The exotic pet trade is on the rise, and ENV receives and handles an increasing number of public reports regarding illegal species being sold on the street, caged in private residences, or advertised online. 389 turtles and tortoises were confiscated or voluntarily transferred during the first quarter. Otters were confiscated from two online sellers. Both cases came as a result of reports to the ENV Hotline by members of the public, with ENV gathering information and collaborating with the relevant authorities. A serval cat was confiscated by Noi Bai Customs after a passenger traveled with it from the Czech Republic. The wildlife was not permitted for import, nor could it be returned, so authorities reached out to ENV for guidance. We worked with our partners to arrange the safe transfer of the serval cat to Hanoi Wildlife Rescue Center. Two lorises, two gibbons, and three leopard cats were among the other species handled by ENV, many of which were kept as pets after being bought online, or in some cases, caught from the wild and confined. In addition, 43 macaques were confiscated or voluntarily transferred to rescue centers.

Internet Crime

ENV's strategy to tackle wildlife cybercrime continues through our internet crime research campaigns and responses to reports from the public about posts and accounts on Facebook, YouTube, TikTok, and other platforms and websites advertising and selling wildlife. In the first quarter of 2023, 418 online wildlife crime cases were reported to ENV. As a result, dozens of wildlife have been rescued. Specifically, thanks to the cooperation of our social media partners, 5 online wildlife-selling groups consisting of over 33,386 members have been taken down, along with numerous social media accounts and violation links.

Communication and Public Awareness

ENV’s communications team has continued raising public awareness through in-person awareness events in various cities across Vietnam, viral campaigns on social media, and wildlife protection news shared with the local press. To challenge the belief that elephant ivory is a symbol of luxury and good fortune, in February, we released a Public Service Announcement (PSA), “Luxury Party”, which was distributed and broadcast by 54 national TV channels. In addition, the PSA was aired at Buon Ma Thuot Airport and featured on the Dak Lak Provincial People Committee website, as well as on the Dak Lak Department of Information and Communication website.

We at ENV would like to express our gratitude for your ongoing support, which enables us to keep our mission to protect endangered wildlife against exploitation heading in the right direction.