Viet Nam Confirmes Severity of Rhino Trade

Viet Nam Confirmes Severity of Rhino Trade

In advance of World Rhino Day this Saturday, WWF and TRAFFIC are calling on Viet Nam to increase efforts to address the illegal trade of rhino horn, which is a terrible threat to rhino populations in both Africa and Asia.

Already this year, nearly 400 South African rhinos have been poached to meet the strong demand in Asian consumer markets, particularly Viet Nam.

“Viet Nam used to be a range country of rhinos. The extinction of the presumably last Javan rhino in Cat Tien National Park in 2010 was a big lesson for protecting endangered wildlife,” said Dr. Nguyen Ba Ngai, Deputy Director General of Viet Nam’s Administration of Forestry, Agriculture and Rural Development.

Viet Nam WWF and CITES management authorities today are bringing together government representatives from Viet Nam, South Africa and the United States, as well as traditional medicine experts, to examine global efforts to conserve rhinos.

“Rhino horns don’t belong on a wall or in a misguided pharmacy. They belong on a healthy rhino living in its natural habitat,” said Laura Stone, Economic Counsellor at the United States embassy in Hanoi. “World Rhino Day is a great opportunity to dispel the myths related to rhino horn”.

“We hope today’s meeting will explore effective ways to tackle the difficult issue of rising demand for rhino horn in Viet Nam,” said Sabri Zain, TRAFFIC’s Advocacy Director.

Posted by George Daniels on Wednesday September 26 2012, 5:38 PM EST. Ref: TRAFFIC. Link. All trademarks acknowledged. Filed under Featured News, Health. Comments and Trackbacks closed. Follow responses: RSS 2.0