VietNamNet Bridge – Tet holiday always brings happiness to people, but it is a big threat to the wildlife. People try to do everything they can to have wildlife meat on the menus of their Tet parties.

Tens of wildlife trafficking cases have been discovered by the police since December 2012. On December 13 alone, two cases were found.

On the morning of the day, a coach carrying 500 snakes weighing 72.5 kilos in total was discovered in the central province of Thanh Hoa, while the carrier could not show the documents about the origin of the snakes.

On the same day, a coach was found as carrying 10 pangolin individuals, four wild boars and some bags containing other kinds of wild animals.

Just one week later, the Quang Tri provincial police caught red handed a group of people carrying precious wild animals.

On December 22, a 7-seater car was also discovered as carrying a big volume of wild animals. The driver then ran away, leaving the wild animals, 215 kilos of pangolin and 193 kilos of varans, which were then seized by the police.

Four days later, on December 26, in Ha Tinh province, a black car with no number plate was found as carrying a consignment of 100 live pangolin individuals, weighing 500 kilos in total.

According to ENV, the Binh Dinh provincial police have stopped a coach carrying 100 kilos of wildlife in Phy My district, which included 16 precious civet individuals.

Most recently, in early 2013, a car reportedly carried 80 varan individuals and 58 turtles weighing 710 kilos.

Especially, the police in Da Nang City had found 500 kilos of wildlife meat stored at two slaughtering workshops. The owners of the workshops said the meat has been stored here before it is put on sale on Tet days, when the demand for wildlife meat increases.

Humans have become the biggest threat for the wildlife in Vietnam. The rich people now can spend huge sums of money on dainty tidbits – the food which is not familiar and nutritious. Wild animals, therefore, have become their most wanted food.

Experts have warned that when Vietnamese people get richer, the wildlife faces the higher risks. The rich people nowadays get tired of the meat made of farmed animals. They need to show off their upper class in the society by eating the food which is very expensive and unpopular.

On January 22, 2013, the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Environment sent a dispatch to relevant ministries and branches, requesting to say “no” to the gifts which are the wild animals, and not to trade the animals, especially on Tet days.

In fact, every one understands well that trading wild animals is a crime for which they would be prosecuted. However, ignoring the laws, many people still have been trading hunting for wild animals because of the overly high profits they can get.

Scientists have repeatedly warned about the exhaustion of some wildlife species. Especially, Tuoi tre newspaper has reported that wild animals have disappeared from the Dong Thap Muoi ecological reserves. The wild animals have to leave their homes because the land has been taken back by people to run their production.

In related news, the Phu Yen provincial agencies released 15 civets and let them go back to the wild on January 22. The civets were seized in a wildlife trafficking case.

Compiled by Thu Uyen