An endangered monkey held captive.(Photo: ENV)Hanoi (VNS/VNA) – As many as 521endangered wildlife animals were saved in Vietnam in 2018 thanks to theengagement of people and law enforcement agencies, NGO Education forNature-Vietnam (ENV) announced on February 11.
Up to 1,666 wildlife-related violations were also detected, of which 64 percentinvolved illegally in advertising and trading endangered animals and productsmade from them.
To avoid law enforcement agencies, traders use the internet as an exchangeplatform to commit the crimes.
ENV recorded 800 wildlife violation cases on the internet, with more than 1,200links showing signs of violation.
In September 2018, the Ba Thuoc district Police in the central province ofThanh Hoa seized a 12-litre bottle of alcohol with two bear legs inside. Thebottle was advertised on Facebook.
A week later, two other people were also arrested for selling bear alcohol.
According to ENV, keeping illegal endangered animals captive and storingwildlife products remain common practices, especially with monkeys, bears,tigers and sea turtles.
Last year, the organisation’s hotline (1800-1522) received 819 wildlifeviolation reports. 65.5 percent of these cases were resolved, up from 48 percentin 2017.
Some owners voluntarily handed over animals to sanctuaries.
Nguyen Thi Phuong Dung, ENV Deputy Director, stressed the importance ofproactive engagement of the society in protecting endangered species andfighting against wildlife violations.
“Via the hotline at 1800-1522, ENV expects to become a bridge connecting peopleand law enforcement agencies to receive reports of wildlife violations as wellas voluntary handovers,” she said.-VNS/VNA
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