Vietnamnet.vn
Podcast
The owner of the bird garden is Tran Nhu Giap, known as the ‘Northern Bird King’, one of the 10 farmers honored by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) and awarded the Shen Nong Star Prize.
Giap began breeding birds with modest capital of VND40 million he saved for many years and borrowed from friends despite disagreement from family members. After the two red pheasants (Phasianus colchicus) he nurtured could reproduce, Giap believed that he can start breeding.
Only after many failures and losing hundreds of millions of dong, Giap was able to help the herd of pheasants multiply and prove that red pheasants can reproduce in artificial conditions.
|
Vuon Chim Viet (Viet Bird Garden) in Dong My commune of Thanh Tri district in Hanoi is described as a ‘world of birds’ where rare and unique birds and waterfowl can be bred successfully. |
Giap’s great achievement then helped take pheasants off the list of rare and precious animals which are in danger in Vietnam. It also encouraged Giap to move ahead with other bird species, though there were not many documents showing how to breed birds.
Vuon Chim Viet, designed as an ecological park, became the first and only center in Vietnam which received a license to breed birds for reproduction and conserve rare and precious animals in Vietnam.
Also at Vuon Chim Viet, Reeves Pheasant (Syrmaticus reevesii), lac hong, and many other endemic bird species in Vietnam have ‘gone out of the Red Book’.
Giap has to pay heavy prices to protect and conserve the species. To have a couple of colorful Australian parrots standing sunbathing in Vuon Chim Viet, Giap had to experience failure worth more than VND100 million
To get two colorful Australian parrots to preen while sunbathing in Vietnam Bird Park, Giap had to pay tuition of more than hundred million.
Vit uyen uong (Aix galericulata), one of the world’s 10 most beautiful bird species according to the Ornamental Creature Journal, can also be bred and multiplied successfully at Vuon Chim Viet. Giap is the first person in Vietnam who has succeeded in multiplying the species.
He is also the first person to breed Ayam Cemani, a precious Indonesian black chicken species. An adult Ayam Cemani chicken, weighing 2-3 kilos, could be priced up to $2,500.
The number of 40 rare and precious chicken species being bred at Vuon Chim Viet show his great passion.
About 50 percent of birds in the farm are being bred for merchandise, while the remaining, rare and precious birds, are being bred for fun and conservation, not for sale, while it is very costly to keep them.
| related news |
Thu Ha
.svg){kind=icon}
