Vietnam drafts law to halt illegal wildlife trade
Vietnam's prime minister has asked the country's agriculture ministry to draft a directive to stop illegal trading and consumption of wildlife over fears that it may spread disease.
Seen as a victory for animal rights organisations, this should lead to a reduction of street markets across Vietnam, increase prosecutions of online traders and, it is hoped, put pressure on thousands of farms with known links to illegal wildlife trading.
Vitenam's move to ban the wildlife trade follows a recent similar move by the Chinese government, after the COVID-19 pandemic sweeping the world was suspected of stemming from a wet market in Wuhan.
Wildlife trade flourishes in Vietnam, where it has become a billion-dollar industry. There are thousands of markets around the country, many of which include stalls selling animals for food or as pets.
Vietnam's wet markets are full of a wide variety of animals, dead and alive, from macaques (above) to frogs, bats and fish (Vineet Radhakrishnan / flickr).
There is also a thriving online trade in animals. Many sellers advertise on Facebook, uploading graphic photos of the products they offer, dead or alive. They are bought as status symbols, pets, food, or to be used in traditional medicines.
However, the nation also has "legal" commercial farms, where species are kept in abhorrent conditions. For example, bears are still kept in tiny cages on bear bile farms, while Tiger farms are also known from some areas.
On 20 November 2019, Vietnamese authorities investigated a wildlife farm and seized 57 animals from 19 different species, according to the Guardian. In this case, the owner was caught in possession of more than 10 species protected by law, which is punishable by a maximum of 15 years in prison. Such a diversity of species is what is thought leads to a spread of disease, as witnessed in Wuhan's wet market.
Online trading has grown in appeal as sellers can hide their identity while reaching more buyers. Entire Facebook pages are dedicated to ivory, rhino horns and bear claws or posting photos of animals being caught or slaughtered. Last year ENV recorded more than 2,400 advertisements in violation of wildlife protection laws on Facebook, YouTube, Zalo and other online platforms, along with more than 600 people caught illegally possessing wildlife.