At least 72 wild animals were released in their natural habitat in the first month of the year, according to Education for Nature Viet Nam (ENV).

A loris is rescued from a restaurant in Dong Nai Province. - Photo courtesy of ENV

They include pangolins, monkeys, turtles, lizards, lorises and birds. Some of these animals were rescued by people and some by police after busting cases of animal trafficking.

Illegal breeding of wild animals in homes and restaurants have been prevalent in the country. Many such cases were found out through ENV’s hotline number 18001522, ENV representatives said.

On January 16, competent forces in southern Dong Nai Province’s Thong Nhat District freed two lorises which were kept in a cage for show at a rest stop.

A monkey was rescued from a coffee shop in Da Nang City and was released in Son Tra nature reserve centre on January 19.

Besides selling and advertising to shops and restaurants, traffickers use social networks to sell wild animals to avoid detection by authorities, said ENV.

Last year, ENV recorded 65.2 per cent cases of violation of wild animal protection related to trading and advertising. — VNS