Commercial wildlife farms present grave threat to biodiversity

Dangerous industry: Vietnam has over 14,000 wildlife farms, including 10 freshwater crocodile farms with a capacity of more than 120,000 animals. — Vietnam News/ANN

In recent decades, along with the robust development of the economy, the demand for wildlife in Vietnam, especially in big cities, has increased.

Aided by overlapping and inconsistent legal regulations on the management of animal origin, wildlife hunting and trafficking activities have intensified in Vietnam and threatened biodiversity.

Wildlife farming here has existed for a long time with many rare and precious animals raised for commercial purposes.

Some wild animals have been bred and domesticated such as the sika deer and wild boar.

According to incomplete statistics from the Centre for People and Nature (Pan Nature), a non-public environmental protection organisation, more than 70 species of wildlife belonging to the mammal classes, birds and reptiles are being raised on farms in the country.

Some species are popular such as long-tailed macaque, freshwater crocodile, python, cobra and turtle.

Some establishments raise rare and precious mammal species of imported origin such as the African white rhino and lion.

There are more than 14,000 wildlife farms in Vietnam, many of which are on an industrial scale.

Breeding has brought an average annual income of up to US$60mil (RM244mil) annually in the last five years as well as created jobs for about 35,000 workers.

According to Dr Vuong Tien Manh, deputy director of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (Cites) Management Authority of Vietnam, breeding accounts for a large proportion of Vietnam’s agriculture.

Cites has detailed procedures to raise wild animals and emphasises that the keeping of wild animals must not affect the survival of the species in nature.

On its part, Vietnam’s Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc this year suspended wildlife imports and ordered the closure of illegal wildlife markets. — Vietnam News/ANN