Phan Quang Minh, deputy head of the Department of Animal Health, cited a VIPA (Vietnam Poultry Association) report as saying that about 200,000-250,000 tons of fowl are imported into Vietnam across border gates a year, which includes smuggled products. It is estimated that tens of thousands of tons of discarded chickens are transported across border lines into the Vietnamese market.

Reports from agencies show that smuggled goods to Vietnam in the first nine months of the year increased sharply. Most of them were brought through border gates in Lang Son, Quang Ninh, Cao Bang, Long An and An Giang provinces.

The agencies seized 373,000 illegally imported head of livestock, 108 tons of animal feeds and 43,500 eggs.

According to Minh, domestic farmers are expanding farming to prepare for the year-end sale season. The demand for breeders is increasing, which has prompted smugglers to bring more breeders to Vietnam for domestic consumption.

The smuggling has led to increased risk in epidemic outbreaks, seriously affecting farming and increasing costs to prevent epidemics and protect people’s health.

Luong Trong Quynh, deputy chair of the Lang Son People’s Committee, said smugglers act brazenly and even dare to crash their cars into officers on duty. 

In general, smugglers bring goods across border lines at night in darkness, and gather in hamlets in border areas, from which fowl is carried away by motorbikes on provincial highways or Highway No 1A to other localities for consumption.

The 389 Steering Committee in Long An province said the animal smuggling scale is small and the activities don’t occur regularly.

Smugglers hire local people to carry animals into Vietnam. They are divided into small groups, each of which carries 3-5 head of cattle across the border. After that, the cattle are carried away by vans.

According to VIPA chair Nguyen Thanh Son, smuggling has existed for many years. Big cattle and poultry smuggling rings import and distribute products throughout the country.  

Nguyen Xuan Duong, chair of the Vietnam Livestock Association, said after Covid-19, domestic farming saw big changes with small-scale farming households replaced with bigger farms. But controlling household farming and maintaining small farms to ensure farmers’ livelihoods is a necessity. He said that "it will be dangerous if the domestic market cannot be controlled."

Tam An