A man was sentenced in Vietnam to thirteen years in prison for trafficking in wildlife products, a "
rare success
" in the fight against this illegal trade reacted Wednesday, February 22 environmental NGOs.
Rhinoceros horns, pangolin scales, elephant tusks, lion bones... Nguyen Duc Tai transported around ten tonnes of products from South Africa and Nigeria to Vietnam, between July 2021 and January 2022, according to a court in Danang (center) which sentenced him on Tuesday, February 21.
The trafficker was taken into custody last year.
Hub in Asia
Vietnam is a hub for the illegal wildlife trade in Asia.
The only mammal with scales, threatened with extinction all over the planet, the pangolin is appreciated for its meat and its virtues in traditional Vietnamese and Chinese medicine.
Although its trade is prohibited, the law is not respected enough, denounce the environmentalists.
This "
rare
" lawsuit is "
a first step to break the network that supplies the wild animal trade
", reacted Bui Thi Ha, deputy director of the NGO Education for Nature Vietnam (ENV).
This is a good example that can serve local authorities, she said, but it is important that those responsible for the network also appear in court.
“
We cannot win this battle unless the leaders are seriously condemned
,” she added.
Read alsoThe rhinoceros and the pangolin, sad stars of animal trafficking
More than 60 tonnes of ivory, pangolin scales and rhino horns have been seized in major Vietnamese ports since 2018, according to ENV data from 2021. No owners of these shipments have been arrested or prosecuted in justice.
The longest sentence recorded in Vietnam for wildlife trafficking stands at 14 years, according to ENV, but the average sentence in 2021 was just under four years.
SEE
ALSO
- Environment: 69% of wild animal populations have disappeared in 50 years, WWF alert
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