Wild animals become delicious cuisines

VietNamNet Bridge – According to statistics, around 3,000 tons of wild animal meat are consumed and exported via the border with China annually, but experts said that this figure is just the tip of the iceberg.

The Education for Nature (ENV) said that in recent years, wildlife trafficking and trade has increased in the number of cases and the seriousness. ENV set up a hotline to protect wildlife in 2005 and so far, it has recorded more than 1,600 wild animal trading cases.

There is no official statistics of the number of wildlife trading cases, but according to the investigation of some competent agencies, around 3,000 tons of wild animals are traded in Vietnam each year. Around 45-50% of the volume is consumed locally and the remaining is exported via the border with China. In Vietnam, the meat of wild animals is mainly sold in Hanoi and HCM City.

Yet, wildlife preservation experts warned that this is the tip of the iceberg. The number of endangered species in the Vietnam Red Book is on the rise. Vietnam has about 700 species of floral and fauna species facing extinction at the national level. One of the reasons is the hunting of wildlife.

At a recent workshop to enforce cooperation to fight against wildlife trafficking at regional levels in Hanoi, 16 representatives from non-governmental organizations of nine Asian countries voiced their concerns about the increasing hunting of wild animals in Asian countries, including Vietnam.

They said wildlife trading has become a super-profitable business and a burning issue of many countries. This is the biggest threat to the extinction of many species.

Experts said that the law still has many gaps for wildlife trading. The ENV’s Nguyen Phuong Dung said she witnessed many wildlife trading cases and there is a concerning fact that fines imposed on violators is not strong enough. After paying fines, many people continue to commit wild animal trafficking and trading.

Vietnam’s law does not clearly distinguish the act of keeping wild animals, trading wild animals, and breeding wild animals in cages.

“Mountainous people, who have opportunities to hunt wild animals, are the ones who have least knowledge about the law and the awareness of protecting wildlife,” said Dr. Vo Ngoc Son, who is very experienced at preservation education.

He said it is significant to educate these people to not hunt but protect wild animals. However, besides education, it is necessary to develop ecological tourism or something to bring income to these people. He cited the monkey island in Can Gio, HCM City as a typical example.