Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Ha Cong Tuan said at the Hanoi Conference on Illegal Wildlife Trade 2016, Vietnam pledged to make concerted efforts to fight illegal trade of endangered fauna and floral species with practical measures.
In the commitments of 25 countries and international organizations at the Hanoi Conference on Illegal Wildlife Trade in 2016, Vietnam promised to eradicate illegal wildlife trade especially trade and smuggle of elephant tusks, rhino horns into the Southeast Asian nation.
Vietnam is one of vital links in the animal trafficking network which traffickers of the transcontinental ring of elephant tusk and rhino horn smuggle into and then export to neighboring countries.
At the meeting, Cites Vietnam under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development reported one-year implementation of the commitment. Cites Vietnam’s director Ha Thi Tuyet Nga said that during one year, Vietnam has adopted practical measures to fight illicit wildlife trade of tusks and rhino horns.
For instance in 2017, police officers, customs departments and relevant agencies detected 483 illicit trades and smugglings of wildlife as well as confiscated 11,554 animals and 10,125 kilogram of wildlife. The disposal of elephant tusks, rhino horns and other things delivered a strong message of the Vietnamese Government to the struggle against illegal wildlife trade.
Six trials of elephant tusk and rhino horn had been held by People's Supreme Procuratorate, the Ministry of Public Security and People's Supreme Court.
Moreover, to prevent trafficking of tusks by air, the ministry has proposed Vietnam not carrying endangered wildlife from July, 2017. Deputy Minister Tuan said Vietnam has increased jail sentence for wildlife trade from five years to ten years.
Rhino horn products have most likely been illegally trafficked from Africa to Vietnam and then into China, accordingly, Ms. Tuyet Nga said that Vietnam has ordered tourists and labors from African countries not to lend hand to trade of tusks and rhino horns.
