VietNamNet Bridge – Wild animal meat is being sold at luxury restaurants and low-roofed street shops near the Cuc Phuong National Park area.

Wild animal meat is displayed for sale in the open air at the “market”. A squirrel is sold at VND65,000 there, a bamboo rat VND300,000, a muntjac VND420,000, and a civet cat at VND1.1 million per kilo.

Lao Dong reporters said they were surprised to see wild animal meat restaurants when they traveled from Thach Lam commune in Thanh Hoa province to An Nghia commune of Hoa Binh province, two localities located in Cuc Phuong National Park area that are under strict control.

A worker at the “Diem Hen Cuc Phuong” (Cuc Phuong Reservoir), when asked about the best specialties on the menu, said his restaurant could offer anything ordered by customers, but squirrel meat had run out because of high demand.

“Enter any roadside shops or restaurant, where you can see refrigerators, you will be able to buy wild animal meat,” Lao Dong reported. Numerous restaurants have been set up on a short 5-kilometer stretch of road.

At Quang Duc Restaurant in Thach Thanh District, a worker tried to persuade customers that the prices there were very “reasonable”.

“A treated squirrel is sold for VND100,000. But if you want ready-made squirrel, you will have to pay VND110,000,” he said.

The worker, in an effort to prove that the meat was “fresh” and “high quality”, opened one of the refrigerators for customers. A large amount of wild animal meat had been stored there after the animals had been treated.

The customers were told to come back at noon if they wanted to buy fresh meat. “This is the time when hunters return from shooting,” he explained.

The restaurant was reportedly located just 50 meters from Forest Rangers’ Unit No 4.

When Lao Dong’s reporters showed what they filmed at the restaurants to Ta Duc Bien, deputy head of the Forest Rangers’ Unit of the Cuc Phuong National Park, Bien looked sceptical.

“The clip is not really clear. I think the restaurants lied and said that this was wild animal meat, so that they could sell the meat at high prices,” Bien said.

Later, when Lao Dong reporters returned to show Bien the clip with higher image quality, Bien said: “If it is true, we will have to examine the restaurants as soon as possible.”

However, he added: “The restaurants’ owners know all the forest rangers by sight. Therefore, it would be very difficult to inspect the restaurants to punish them.”

Lao Dong