‘We don’t want your rhino horn!’ is the message Vietnamese celebrities including diva Hong Nhung and composer Thanh Bui have sent to South Africa after the country proposed legalizing rhino horn trade.

The Education for Nature – Vietnam (ENV) together with Vietnam celebrities called on the community to join the online-signing campaign in order to collect 50,000 signatures across Vietnam.

Earlier, South Africa published draft regulations for the domestic trade in rhinoceros horn, or a part, product or derivative of rhinoceros horn. 

If these new regulations are approved, rhino horns can be legally imported into Vietnam and other countries.

Singer Hong Nhung who is also a rhino ambassador said she had witnessed the carnage personally in South Africa, so she and many other Vietnamese people want to send a clear message to proponents of the rhino horn trade in South Africa that Vietnamese people do not want your rhino horn.

Bui Thi Ha, deputy director of ENV, said legalizing rhino horn trade is contrary to the global effort to conserve these endangered species and to hasten the end of rhino.

According to Vietnam’s new penal code which is expected to come into effect this year, any crime involving a small amount of rhino horn (50gram) will be subject to prosecution.

In recent years, Vietnam has been considered a major consumer market for rhino horns, which is a major cause for rhino extinction. 

However, the country has been making great progress in addressing the problem by raising public awareness, strengthening law enforcement, and improving legislation.

VOV