Bush meat seizure in Vietnam
Hanoi, 25th Feb
There are thousands of jubliant festivals in Vietnam taking place every year but only the festival held in Perfume Pagoda (My Duc, Hanoi) is notorious for a knotty problem of wild animal hunting and trading directly. Why vice minister of the ministry of Culture, Sport and Tourism, vice chairman of Hanoi people’s committee and many other organizations are not able to inhibit this cruel business? The underlying reason for this, which everyone knows but no one dares to speak out, is “money”. It is said that the rent of these restaurants are up to tens or hundreds of million VND in the festival.
Fake bushmeat and blood
In 2004, as well as recently reported years, close to the holy Perfume Pagoda is horrifying spectacle with many wild animals such as deers, foxes, porcupines, squirrels hung with blood dribbling down. A deer, as big as a cow, was killed and all its organs are pulled out while its blood is dripping into a bucket below. The customers are excited of drinking and eating, even some buy more to bring home. The peacefulness and sacredness in one of the holiest pagodas in Vietnam are deteriorated by such hundreds of restaurants surrounding.
Many journalists, conservationists expect the real action from those who have responsibility to change the situation. Before 2014, Vietnam Television invited the writer and prof Dang Hoang Loan to have an interview about the current situation of many festivals held throught out the country and all participants agreed absolutely that it is unacceptable to see this terrible sight along the way to pagoda. Prof Loan even pointed out that those who visit pagoda or manage the festival tended to ignore this issue or even supported this cruel business during 3 months.
ENV – a pretigous organization had many reporters, in disguise as pilgrims, record and take pictures of these restaurants, the invoices with the name of each wild animal and the process from when the animals are alive until they are killed and hung up during the 2003 festival. Finally, they issued a press release sent to Mr Hoang Manh Son, the chairman of My Duc district’s people’s committee, and Hanoi people’s committee then. Within 2 days in 21, 22, February, 2013, 46 out of 50 restaurants are reported to publicly trade bushmeat without any penalty from local government. Another inspection showed that 7 out of 17 ones do not have business licenses. ENV decided to hang up many banners to raise the awareness of tourists and locals along Yen river to save wild animals by not using any products made from them but just a few days later, all of these banners are removed by a “secret force”. The ENV effort, though are supported by press and media, seems uneffective and this situation remains exist like the previous year.
Behind the scene of killed wild animals
Recently, Ms Nguyen Thi Bich Ngoc, vice chairman of Hanoi People’s Committee signed a official documents to impose strict penalty on rare wild animal consumption, vice minister of Culture, Sport and Tourism issued the same document to prohibit hanging animals up but Mr Nguyen Van Hau, vice chairman of My Duc district people’s committee said that hanging up these animals is unavoidable because it is a way to preserve meat in a traditional way. It is quite ridiculous that he believed that this is the only way to preserve 3 tons of meat to serve 60 000 people during the festival and we can avoid the visual negative impression by decorating meat with onions or garlics!
All know that the only answer for this is “money”. Many ENV’s interviews lead to this result. The seller said that after Tet, pilgrims lost appetite for pork, chicken, fish and want to try something new and different. These places become destinations for them to purchase wild animal meat. It is a good market so that they have to pay hundreds of VND million to rent a place during festival. Some said the number is VND 400-500 million per spot. According to a reliable source, it is VND 200-300 million. So how those who received this amount of money can critize the seller for trading wild animals while they spend lots of money renting this place. They do not solve this problem, not because they can not but because they do not want to. Who can believe that all of these animals sold in Perfume pagoda were domestic as some people said while both international and local experts affirmed they are wild animals? More important, all restaurants have advertisement board showing they are selling bushmeat. What a shame those who know the fact but still keep silent to ignore their responsibility and the endangered wild animals also!
http://laodong.com.vn/phong-su/van-xe-thit-thu-hoang-doc-duong-hanh-huong-181868.bld
Huong Mai
Hanoi, 25th Feb
There are thousands of jubliant festivals in Vietnam taking place every year but only the festival held in Perfume Pagoda (My Duc, Hanoi) is notorious for a knotty problem of wild animal hunting and trading directly. Why vice minister of the ministry of Culture, Sport and Tourism, vice chairman of Hanoi people’s committee and many other organizations are not able to inhibit this cruel business? The underlying reason for this, which everyone knows but no one dares to speak out, is “money”. It is said that the rent of these restaurants are up to tens or hundreds of million VND in the festival.
Fake bushmeat and blood
In 2004, as well as recently reported years, close to the holy Perfume Pagoda is horrifying spectacle with many wild animals such as deers, foxes, porcupines, squirrels hung with blood dribbling down. A deer, as big as a cow, was killed and all its organs are pulled out while its blood is dripping into a bucket below. The customers are excited of drinking and eating, even some buy more to bring home. The peacefulness and sacredness in one of the holiest pagodas in Vietnam are deteriorated by such hundreds of restaurants surrounding.
Many journalists, conservationists expect the real action from those who have responsibility to change the situation. Before 2014, Vietnam Television invited the writer and prof Dang Hoang Loan to have an interview about the current situation of many festivals held throught out the country and all participants agreed absolutely that it is unacceptable to see this terrible sight along the way to pagoda. Prof Loan even pointed out that those who visit pagoda or manage the festival tended to ignore this issue or even supported this cruel business during 3 months.
ENV – a pretigous organization had many reporters, in disguise as pilgrims, record and take pictures of these restaurants, the invoices with the name of each wild animal and the process from when the animals are alive until they are killed and hung up during the 2003 festival. Finally, they issued a press release sent to Mr Hoang Manh Son, the chairman of My Duc district’s people’s committee, and Hanoi people’s committee then. Within 2 days in 21, 22, February, 2013, 46 out of 50 restaurants are reported to publicly trade bushmeat without any penalty from local government. Another inspection showed that 7 out of 17 ones do not have business licenses. ENV decided to hang up many banners to raise the awareness of tourists and locals along Yen river to save wild animals by not using any products made from them but just a few days later, all of these banners are removed by a “secret force”. The ENV effort, though are supported by press and media, seems uneffective and this situation remains exist like the previous year.
Behind the scene of killed wild animals
Recently, Ms Nguyen Thi Bich Ngoc, vice chairman of Hanoi People’s Committee signed a official documents to impose strict penalty on rare wild animal consumption, vice minister of Culture, Sport and Tourism issued the same document to prohibit hanging animals up but Mr Nguyen Van Hau, vice chairman of My Duc district people’s committee said that hanging up these animals is unavoidable because it is a way to preserve meat in a traditional way. It is quite ridiculous that he believed that this is the only way to preserve 3 tons of meat to serve 60 000 people during the festival and we can avoid the visual negative impression by decorating meat with onions or garlics!
All know that the only answer for this is “money”. Many ENV’s interviews lead to this result. The seller said that after Tet, pilgrims lost appetite for pork, chicken, fish and want to try something new and different. These places become destinations for them to purchase wild animal meat. It is a good market so that they have to pay hundreds of VND million to rent a place during festival. Some said the number is VND 400-500 million per spot. According to a reliable source, it is VND 200-300 million. So how those who received this amount of money can critize the seller for trading wild animals while they spend lots of money renting this place. They do not solve this problem, not because they can not but because they do not want to. Who can believe that all of these animals sold in Perfume pagoda were domestic as some people said while both international and local experts affirmed they are wild animals? More important, all restaurants have advertisement board showing they are selling bushmeat. What a shame those who know the fact but still keep silent to ignore their responsibility and the endangered wild animals also!
http://laodong.com.vn/phong-su/van-xe-thit-thu-hoang-doc-duong-hanh-huong-181868.bld
Huong Mai
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