Ms. Vu Thi Quyen - Director of ENV answered the press interview

1. Investigating and strictly handling subjects who lead illegal wildlife trade lines

Vietnam has for the first time arrested and imprisoned the subject of an illegal trading of wildlife trade across the continent. Subject Nguyen Mau Chien and his accomplices were arrested in April 2017 along with confiscated material including many rhino horns, ivory, frozen tigers and other wildlife products. This subject was sentenced to 13 months in prison.

In another typical case, subject Hoang Tuan Hai was sentenced to 4.5 years in prison for illegally manufacturing and trading over 10 tons of sea turtles in Khanh Hoa. These turtles were discovered and confiscated by authorities in Hai and his brother's warehouse in late 2014.

These victories have shown the great changes of Vietnam in the fight against crime in wildlife. However, at present, a number of other major wildlife trade networks are still operating (smuggling tons of ivory, rhino horn, pangolin scales, tigers, bears, etc.) without being arrested and handled.

Action: The authorities need to focus on rooting out the major wildlife trafficking networks by attempting to investigate, arrest, and strictly handle the leaders of these lines.

2. Eliminate corruption

Corruption is a very sensitive issue and a major barrier in the fight against wildlife crimes, especially in cases involving high-value species in the market such as rhino horn. sense and ivory. Offenders are always trying to circumvent the law everywhere, from "lining" to "customs clearance" at the border to going to the "back door" if found to escape the crime, not prosecuted or reduced. good judgment or even acquitted in court.

Action: Law enforcement agencies, especially those in border areas, border gates, airports, seaports and along the border must always maintain the spirit of steel and not because of the bran. material coax that is willing to abide the criminal line. The authorities need to act aggressively not only for the benefit of the nation but also for the respect of Vietnamese laws. Moreover, we need to increase transparency in law enforcement agencies so that corruption does not exist, and to ensure that laws are applied consistently and effectively and that no one will stand up. on the law.

Smugglers will have to stop transporting tons of ivory to Vietnam if they perceive an increasing risk and there is no safe way for them to bring smuggled goods into Vietnam.

3. Appropriate punishment to deter effective violators

The Penal Code 2015 (amended and supplemented in 2017 - hereinafter referred to as the Penal Code 2015), which came into effect earlier this year, is one of Vietnam's important strides in efforts to protect wildlife. The new Penal Code has removed many previous legal gaps, increased fines for serious violations and is an important legal basis for local authorities to strictly handle crimes of wildlife.

However, after assessing the results of 10 cases that have been tried for illegal wildlife trade and transport since the beginning of this year, ENV realized that there has not been much change in the number of cases. Subjects subject to prison terms compared to those entitled to non-custodial sentences or re-education. Only 2 out of 11 subjects brought to trial were sentenced to imprisonment, the rest were fined or suspended.

Action: Applying strict punishment to ensure the meaning of deterrence is extremely important in the fight against crime in general. Currently, wildlife trade is still considered to be a safe, illegal way of getting rich because of its low risk but huge profits. Therefore, only when the law is effectively applied will it prevent and minimize violations.

Law enforcement and procedural authorities should seriously implement the 2015 Penal Code effectively, especially in all cases involving high-value wildlife or when prosecuting, considering dealing with key subjects in large criminal networks. ENV calls on Vietnamese legal agencies to implement policy 3 NO (no sympathy, no mercy, no self-interest) in the process of handling crimes about wildlife.

4. Trafficking of rhino horn in any form is strictly prohibited

Facing the rhino massacre in the world, Vietnam has made great strides in efforts to reduce demand for rhino horn and strengthen institutions and policies to prevent rhino horn trade in Vietnam. In recent years, although some countries are seeking to legalize the trade in rhino horn and other high value wildlife products, Vietnam has continued to make great efforts to minimize demand and Domestic rhino horn is strictly prohibited.

Action: Vietnam should continue to strictly prohibit all forms of rhino horn trade, including in the form of souvenirs.

5. Destroying storehouse of ivory and rhino horn

In November 2016, Vietnam for the first time destroyed 2.1 tons of ivory in Hanoi. This is a positive step, demonstrating Vietnam's commitment to dealing with ivory and rhino horn exhibits from illegal transport and trade with an estimated volume of more than 50 tons.

Shortly thereafter, in early 2017, Lao Cai authorities destroyed 43 ivory - exhibits seized from many cases in 2015. The drastic action of Lao Cai is important because this is For the first time, one locality took the initiative to destroy the confiscated ivory.

Action: Unfortunately, after the above two moves, ENV has not recorded any more cases of destruction of ivory and rhino horn in Vietnam. The ENV believes that the destruction of ivory and rhino horn should become routine in criminal proceedings, immediately after a case is closed. In ENV's opinion, the authorities should retain only a small number of ivory and rhino horn specimens for the purpose of DNA analysis, education - training or scientific research.

6. Tighten management of private tiger farms and cease all activities for uncontrolled tiger breeding

In recent years, private tiger farming facilities are rapidly developing. Since 2010, the number of tigers in captivity in Vietnam has increased by about 197% with 241 tigers currently being kept at 17 zoos and private facilities.

Some private establishments show signs of using legal covers to trade illegal tigers. Not only that, many establishments also deliberately let tigers breed to increase the number of captive tigers. This will be a big challenge for the authorities in the management task if there is no measure to prevent and control the current situation of tiger farming effectively.

Preventing the widespread tiger farming in the localities is an essential measure to minimize the illegal tiger trade and to avoid repeating the mistakes that happened to the widespread bear farming in for years.

Action: Measures need to be taken soon to tighten the management of captive tiger species in private facilities including registration and chip installation, transfer or import of new tigers legally, and prohibition of for tigers to breed at these facilities.

Ms. Bui Thi Ha - Deputy Director of ENV gave a presentation on 10 urgent actions

7. Completely stop the situation of bear confinement in Vietnam

As of September 2018, about 780 bears are still being kept in Vietnam, down from 4,300 in 2005.

In recent times more and more bear owners have voluntarily transferred bears to the state. In addition, authorities in many localities are working hard to make their locality "a place with no captive bears". Many localities are also becoming more aggressive in dealing with bear-related violations including advertising and trading bear products.

Action: ENV calls on localities where bear bile is kept, especially in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, to act swiftly and aggressively in accordance with the common trend to turn its province / city into a state. "The locality has no more captive bears". This cruel and illegal trade in bear bile extraction and trade needs to be soon terminated in modern Vietnamese society.

8. Tightening the licensing status for wildlife trade

The illegal hunting of wildlife and sale to legal commercial farms is a great threat to biodiversity of Vietnam and other countries in the region. Evidence shows that the majority of wildlife trade registries often supplement wild-hunted seed sources or even use them as a legal cover for wildlife trade. Illegal exploitation in the wild.

Action: It is necessary to develop legal documents to strictly manage wildlife farms and eliminate the large gaps that exist in the management of these facilities in order to stop wildlife trade. from the wild to the farm. At the same time, it is necessary to take measures to help localities monitor and effectively manage wildlife farms and strictly handle violations. The commercial farming must be absolutely guaranteed to not affect these species populations in the wild.

In addition, ENV proposes to strictly prohibit all forms of commercial rearing of endangered animals (regardless of origin). This issue needs to be clearly reflected in the decrees currently being drafted by state management agencies, including the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

In addition, ENV also proposed to STOP LICENSE to establish "conservation facilities" until legal documents clearly specify the purpose and activities allowed to be carried out at these facilities. Legislation also prohibits wildlife trade in these facilities and requires establishments requesting permission to provide clear evidence proving their specific contributions to wildlife conservation. if licensed.

9. To force local administrations to take responsibility in controlling and stopping the illegal wildlife consumption in their localities

Local governments, in particular, People's Committees (People's Committees) at all levels are responsible for ensuring that businesses such as restaurants, traditional pharmacies and other establishments in the area comply with the law on protection. wildlife protection. These establishments must not illegally trade wildlife or products derived from wildlife

Survey campaigns to reduce wildlife consumption conducted by ENV in six major cities showed that violations at businesses were only reduced in areas where local authorities had stepped up enforcement. law. For example, within the past 6 months, Dong Da District (Hanoi) and District 5 (Ho Chi Minh City) have successfully reduced wildlife wildlife violations with 51% and 56% respectively. %. Meanwhile, the number of violations in District 1 (Ho Chi Minh City) also decreased by 27% during the same period.

The complete elimination of wildlife violations is the responsibility of local authorities. Whether or not a locality has committed many violations is the most honest reflection of the responsibility and capacity of that local government in managing and monitoring the activities of law enforcement agencies. local.

Action: To direct People's Committees at the commune and district level to make efforts to stop wildlife trade in their area, including illegal wildlife trade, trade, and storage. Local authorities need to be formally entrusted with this responsibility, in order to ensure that businesses in the area comply with the laws on wildlife protection.

10. Enhancing the fight against criminals on the Internet

While wildlife crimes are on the decline in businesses in many major cities across the country, this type of crime is on the rise. The online sale of ivory, tiger products, valuable wildlife or indigenous and exotic pets has been gaining popularity in recent years.

Action: Apply current regulations to deal with and prevent endangered, precious and rare wildlife advertisement, trade, and exchange on the Internet.Some effective measures include: closing electronic websites containing advertising and trade information for wildlife species that need to be protected; strengthen monitoring and deletion of personal pages on social networks (such as Facebook) used by some subjects to advertise and trade wildlife; strengthen the investigation and tracking of suppliers and traders of live animals and valuable products in order to capture and strictly handle these objects.