Members of the conservation community in Vietnam have called upon youngsters to engage in activities to protect wild animals at high risks of extinction in response to the World Wildlife Day (March 3), according to the Animal Asia.

Themed “Listen to the young voices”, the event aims to encourage young people around the globe to join hands to address threats to wildlife, including illegal trade, overexploitation, and habitat loss.

This message has special influence in Vietnam where a lot of rare animals such as tigers, elephants, and pangolins are on the brink of extinction due to poaching activities.

For instance, the Javan rhino was declared to become extinct in Vietnam in 2010.

In recent years, Vietnam has exerted every effort to improve the legal system and enhance the capacity for law enforcement officials. However, many things need to be done to stop wildlife crime.

According to the United Nations Population Fund, the Vietnamese adolescents aged 20-24 are making up nearly 40 percent of the national population.

Manager of the Wildlife Conservation Society Hoang Bich Thuy said the young generation could make essential changes by saying no to the purchase or consumption of wildlife products.

The Vietnamese Government hosted an international conference on combating wildlife trade at the end of 2016, calling on countries to shake hands to prevent the illegal trade.

The Nature Education Centre and Vietnamese artists are taking part in a campaign to call on South Africa to withdraw the proposal of legalizing rhino horn trade by its government in a bill on February 8, 2017, allowing the trade of rhino horns and rhino products.

Deputy Director of the centre Bui Thi Ha said the legalization of rhino horn trade will pose a number of difficulties for the enforcement of law in consuming countries.

The move not only goes against the global efforts to preserve rare wildlife but also speed up the speed of extinction of rhinos, she added.

The Nature Education Centre called for online registration in the campaign at http://bit.ly/wedontwantyourrhinohorn. 

VNA