Protect Endangered Wildlife Against Exploitation

This report shares the latest on ENV's ongoing efforts to protect endangered wildlife from exploitation in Vietnam. With your vital support, we can continue combating bear farming, tackling the illegal ivory trade, and addressing the rise of wildlife crimes on the internet. These updates highlight the progress we’re making together to protect some of Vietnam’s most vulnerable species. 

We are pleased to share that in the first half of 2024, our Wildlife Crime Unit logged over 1,500 new wildlife crime cases, consisting of more than 4,700 individual violations. With ENV's support, 787 live wild animals have been rescued or voluntarily transferred from January to June this year.

Bears

With less than 200 bears left in captivity, the end to bear bile farming in Vietnam is near. As of June 2024, there are 193 bears on 61 bear farms nationwide, and 46 provinces can claim bear farm-free status.

However, bear bile extraction persists at farms where owners resist transferring their bears to authorities. For this, in July ENV sent 61 postcards to the remaining bear owners nationwide, encouraging them to transfer their bears to rescue centers. As part of a multifaced strategy to end bear farming, ENV has communicated regularly with bear owners since 2005.

Elephant ivory

From January to June this year, the ENV Wildlife Crime Unit logged 120 ivory-related cases, the majority being internet crime cases.

In June, as part of our mission to end the exploitation and slaughter of African elephants for ivory consumption in Vietnam, ENV developed and distributed over 3,500 copies of the Guidelines for Addressing Ivory-related Violations. This comprehensive resource offers clear instructions on enforcing wildlife protection laws to combat ivory-related crimes. It was sent to 981 provincial and district agencies, including Forest Protection Departments, Police, Market Surveillance, Customs, and Border Guards, across all 63 provinces and cities in Vietnam.

On the prosecution side, in February 2023, Hai Phong Customs and City Police seized 615 kg of ivory from two shipping containers at Hai Phong port. In a landmark decision, the Hai Phong City People's Court recently sentenced the recipient of these containers to 10 years in prison. This case marks the first instance of illegal wildlife transport detected at Hai Phong port where the perpetrator was successfully apprehended and prosecuted (Case ref. 26064/ENV).

Pangolins

In Vietnam, pangolins are heavily exploited for their scales and meat, with the illegal trade driven by demand for traditional medicine and luxury consumption, pushing the species closer to extinction.

In the first half of 2024, a total of 68 pangolin cases were logged by the ENV Wildlife Crime Unit, with 5 live pangolins being confiscated or voluntarily transferred thanks to ENV’s contribution.

Additionally, a man was sentenced by Huong Son District Court to five years in prison for possessing six frozen pangolins, two frozen tiger cubs, and a frozen serow head (Case ref. 29438/ENV).

Primates, turtles, & other illegal ‘pets’

In the first half of 2024, 350 turtles and tortoises have been confiscated or voluntarily transferred, and 51 macaques.

Notably, with the support of ENV, the abbot of a pagoda in Hiep Thanh district voluntarily handed over nine leopard cats, three yellow-headed temple turtles, and two elongated tortoises to Bac Lieu Provincial Forest Protection Department. The animals had been gifted by believers over the years. All the wild animals have been released in U Minh Ha National Park (Case ref. 30641/ENV).

Below are more examples of successful cases since our last report:

• ENV provided assistance to a person in voluntarily transfer four critically endangered Bourret's box turtles to the Ho Chi Minh City Forest Protection Department. The turtles were relocated to Cu Chi Wildlife Rescue Station (Case ref. 30385/ENV).
• After receiving a report about wildlife being sold at a market in Dong Nai, ENV notified law enforcement who checked the site and found a pigmy loris. The Forest Protection Department proceeded to confiscate the animal and transfer it to Cat Tien National Park (Case ref. 29309/ENV).
• In Dong Nai, a long-tailed macaque and a pig-tailed macaque were finally confiscated from an establishment after multiple reports to our Hotline, starting in 2021. Despite earlier searches coming up empty, this time the Forest Protection Department successfully located and confiscated the macaques (Case ref. 22413/ENV).

Internet crime

In the first half of 2024, ENV received over 3,500 reports of online wildlife violations, with individuals advertising and selling wildlife across various platforms, including Facebook, YouTube, and TikTok. These cases highlight the growing challenge of tackling online wildlife crimes.
YouTube, in particular, presents unique obstacles. Despite some content being in clear violation of Vietnamese law, many YouTube channels, such as those showcasing “pet” macaques, do not breach the platform’s global community standards. This gap limits our ability to collaborate effectively with authorities. In response, ENV sends warning messages urging these channels to comply with local wildlife protection laws, though they are not legally bound to follow these warnings.

However, we are pleased to share one of our most recent successes, which involved the confiscation of two macaques—a pig-tailed macaque and a stump-tailed macaque—from an individual exploiting them for profit on his popular YouTube channel, which has over 800,000 followers. Thanks to the vigilance of concerned citizens worldwide, who reported the channel to our Wildlife Crime Hotline, the Thanh Hoa Forest Protection Department was able to take action and confiscate the animals (Case ref. 26811/ENV).

Communication and Public Awareness

Our Communication and Public Awareness team continues to work tirelessly to engage the public, shift behaviors, and build a more informed society through our volunteer network “on the ground”, radio, TV, and airports.

Recently, in Buon Ma Thout, a key area in Vietnam’s ivory trade, ENV’s dedicated outpost has successfully expanded its network with new volunteers. The vibrant group of young individuals has been trained in wildlife crime prevention and species identification, ready to make a difference in their communities.

In July, ENV kicked off the Ending Bear Farm in Hanoi campaign on VOV Traffic, Vietnam’s most popular radio channel, encouraging Hanoi bear owners to voluntarily transfer the last remaining bears to rescue centers.

Moreover, our wildlife protection messages were displayed at Tan Son Nhat and Noi Bai Airports, reaching thousands of travelers and commuters.

None of these achievements would have been possible without your generous support.

Thank you for standing with us and playing a vital role in protecting wildlife from exploitation.

Until next time,