VietnamPlus, after discovering the bustling illegal trade of rare and precious birds at Thanh Hoa Market in Long An province, published a series of reports. It managed to contact the Forest Protection Department, asking them to conduct investigations and eliminate the place called ‘bird hell’.

The department then sent a task force to the site to carry out reconnaissance and organize a secret inspection, ending up with the seizing of wildlife listed in Vietnam’s Red Book.

The secret inspection showed that the elimination of the market is a necessity to prevent and fight against the epidemic.

Why did the wildlife market, privately run and operating in the open air, exist for many years until the Forest Protection Department’s took action? Will the black market be eliminated now, or will it resume operation after the forest rangers are away?

How was the mission carried out?

After more than three days of reconnaissance, the Forest Protection Department’s taskforce on March 15 carried out a secret tracing of the largest "special bird zone" in the province of Long An.

With information provided by VietnamPlus, on March 12, Do Quang Tung, acting director of the Forest Protection Department, assigned Ha Hai Binh, head of the task force of the department, to join forces with the Foreign Protection Sub-department Zone 3, to go to the site to learn about the situation before the official trace began.

Soon after the officers of the Forest Protection Department turned up on the site in blue cars, traders quickly put animals belonging to 1B group into jute bags to hide them.

When the officers came to see traders and asked to examine the wildlife, the goods owners immediately called relatives to come and carry away the bags of birds, monkeys, snakes and eagles.

When carrying out reconnaissance, officers discovered that the Yen Tam stall located in the end of the market had the biggest supply of otters, sparrows (Porphyrio poliocephalus), pythons and snakes.

When officers appeared, the owner of the stall put snakes and otters into the next stall, which was locked, trying to deny responsibility by saying it was a derelict stall. He slandered the officers and made it difficult for them to examine and confiscate exhibits.

Most other stalls were also locked, which made inspection difficult.

VietnamPlus reporters managed to contact the Long An provincial Police and Chair of Thanh Hoa district and ask for help.

After four hours of persuasion for cooperation, Yen Tam’s owner opened the stall. 1 otter (8 kg); 2 cobra (Naja kaouthia 5 kg); 1 Ptyas Mucosus (1.6 kg); and 30 kg of snakes and Coelognathus radiate were seized.

Wild animals were also found at Diem My and other stalls in the market. 

Thien Nhien

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