VietNamNet Bridge – Shops that buy and sell imported exotic animals in HCM City have become increasingly difficult to monitor, raising risks to human and animal health, according to authorities.

Cruel practice: Exotic animals can be found for sale both offline and online. Photo courtesy of Pop Pet Shop. — VNS Photos An Phuong

Many locals in HCM City like to buy exotic insects, reptiles and other imported animals of various colours and shapes, and raise them as pets.

“Dogs can be your best friend, but not for me. I have a tortoise and it is my love. Exotic animals are more precious and valuable compared to others,” Quan Dung, 28, told Viet Nam News.

“Valuable as they are, some of my friends buy exotic animals and give them to their bosses on special occasions,” he said, adding that some animals are viewed as good luck charms.

The imported animals sell at a wide variety of price points at the shops, which claim they are imported with official documents.

Spiders such as white-legged spiders, red-legged spiders, Tarantula and Red G. Rose Tarafu can be found at many shops, priced at VND100,000 (US$4,3) to several million dong. 

Yellow, green, and red geckos sell for VND1.2 million ($52) to 7 million ($304,000) each, while pythons sell from VND1.5 million ($65) to 4 million ($174).

African bullfrogs, Pacman frogs, South American dragons and Australian dragons sell for VND0.7 million to 5 million, and Russian tortoises, Indian star tortoises and leopard tortoises cost VND2.5 to 3.8 million ($108 to 165) each.

People can also buy Savannah Monitor, Tegu Argentina, Argus Monitor and Lace Monitor lizards at these shops.

Big animals sell for more than VND10 million ($434), according to a shop in HCM City that claims to sell animals from Thailand that are free of disease and are not poisonous.

“I also have animals imported from China and Indonesia, besides Thailand,” the shop owner said.

Sellers at the shops often show buyers how to take care of the animals or inseminate different reptiles for resale purposes.

Necessities like food, cages, and lights can be ordered from these shops as well, a frequent buyer said.

Great harm

Besides their growing popularity, these shops are not monitored by any official authority, including the HCM City Veterinary Department, Industry and Trade Department, or Health Department.

The departments said the sub-departments of Animal Health in each region should handle imported animals.

However, according to the sub-department of Animal Heath in Region VI, these kinds of animals are not included on the list of permissible imports.

Ly Hoai Vu, representative of the sub-department, said that for overseas animals to be legally imported to Vietnam, importers have to first seek approval from the Animal Health Department.

Imported animals must have official health certificates from their export countries and cannot be on the prohibited list of animals.

Meanwhile, the Directorate of Fisheries under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development is responsible for the import of aquatic animals.

As imported animals are cleared by the Animal Health Department or Directorate of Fisheries, they have to be checked by the sub-department of relevant regions.

As of now, no shop in HCM City has informed the sub-department of their selling or importing activities.

Dr. Le Quy Kha, deputy director of the Viet Nam Institute of Agricultural Science and Technology, said that illegally imported animals could cause detrimental consequences to the environment.

“The yellow snail’s fast reproduction overwhelms local animal habitats and destroys crops, and red-eared tortoises damage the ecosystem and are a source of typhoid,” Kha said.

Kha warned that theses exotic animals can carry multiple diseases and spread harmful fungi and bacteria.

For instance, scorpions are highly toxic and frogs can be a source of poison. If any of them mix with local breeds, an imbalance could occur in the ecosystem.

Kha said that authorities should take immediate action to monitor business activities of shops selling imported animals. 

Get it all: Necessities like food, cages and lighting equipment are sold at pet shops that sell imported exotic animals. Don’t buy them: Exotic animals for sale can be found both offline and online. Photo courtesy of Pop Pet Shop

Source: VNS