Raising wild "specialties": Some are rich, others are deeply in debt
Raising wild animals has become a lucrative business for some households. However, many households have also encountered difficulties due to debt.
The deer farming model of Mr. Quan Van Tiep, Group 3, Tan Ha Ward (Tuyen Quang City) has brought high economic efficiency. Mr. Tiep said that in 2009, he invested in a barn to raise 40 female deer. Thanks to good care, each year a mother deer gives birth to 1 fawn. After about 6 months of raising, the fawns cost 10 million VND/deer.
Last September, Mr. Tiep sold 50 deer for VND500 million. In addition to selling deer for breeding, the herd is also harvested for antlers. Each year, Mr. Tiep's family harvests about 6 kg of deer antlers, with an average selling price of VND20 million/kg. The profits have helped Mr. Tiep expand his scale from a breeding facility to a farm.
The model of raising deer for reproduction and antlers of Mr. Quan Van Tiep's family, group 3, Tan Ha ward, Tuyen Quang city (Tuyen Quang province) brings in revenue of hundreds of millions of VND/year.
In contrast to deer farming, porcupine farming models are falling into misery as the price of these specialties is decreasing day by day. Once racing to follow the porcupine farming trend, Mr. Nguyen Van Toi, Group 10, Tan Quang Ward (Tuyen Quang City) understands better than anyone the hardships and difficulties of raising wild animals in captivity.
Mr. Toi shared that in early 2012, he invested 120 million VND to build a barn and bought 7 porcupines to raise. After 3 years of hard work, his family's porcupine herd has increased to 15. He thought that when he sold them, he would make a big profit, but unexpectedly, the price of porcupines dropped like never before, the price of porcupines for breeding was only 2 million VND/1 porcupine, commercial porcupines had to be sold by the kilogram. Selling the whole herd of porcupines, Mr. Toi earned exactly 12 million VND.
In the same situation as Mr. Toi, Mr. Nguyen Manh Hung, Tan Quang village, Thai Binh commune (Yen Son) is also in trouble with porcupines. According to Mr. Hung, at its peak, a pair of porcupines less than 3 months old cost up to 20 million VND. However, from 2015 until now, the price of porcupines has suddenly plummeted to only 1.5 million to 1.7 million VND/pair, causing many families like his to suffer heavy losses.
Currently, the whole Tuyen Quang province has only 66 wildlife captive facilities with over 10 thousand individuals, compared to 2014, this number has decreased by nearly half the number of facilities and individuals. Mr. Luong Xuan Trong, a forest ranger, the provincial Forest Protection Department, said that the reason for the decrease in facilities is because at first, people invested in raising animals according to the trend without researching the market. Therefore, when they massively raised special animals, their value suddenly dropped, becoming a "debt" for many households.
