Ending illegal bear farming
(Baonghean) - In recent years, the number of households keeping rare and endangered wild animals (mainly bears) in the province has decreased. However, in reality, the management and supervision of keeping animals in captivity still reveals some shortcomings and limitations that need to be overcome.
Captive breeding without microchip
Quynh Luu used to be known as the locality with the strongest movement of raising wild animals for commercial purposes in the province, especially bears. From 2005 to April 2017, there were 13 households raising bears with 42 individuals. Of which, 37 were males and 5 were females, all of which were Asian bears and had been microchipped by the authorities.
Currently, there are only 4 households raising 16 bears, including 12 males and 4 females. According to Mr. Nguyen Tat Ha - Deputy Head of Quynh Luu Forest Protection Department, the reason is that from May 2017 to now, 24 bears have died due to old age and illness.
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| A bear is kept in cramped conditions in Quynh Luu district. Photo: Commander |
In Yen Thanh, Mr. Nguyen Viet Khanh - in charge of the District Forest Protection Department said: If in 2012 there were 4 households raising bears with 11 individuals, now there are only 2 households raising 5 individuals. A household that has been raising 3 bears since 2005 in Thi Tu hamlet, Quang Thanh commune said: Since 2010, according to regulations, all raised bears must be microchipped for management and monitoring by authorities and it is strictly forbidden to collect bile for business purposes, so now the family only raises them... as pets???
In general, in recent times, the management of the captivity of endangered and rare wild animals in general, and bears in particular, in the province has received attention and supervision from authorities at all levels and functional sectors. However, this work still reveals some shortcomings and limitations. Some households have not fully complied with the provisions of the law on raising wild animals, and in particular, there are still bears that are not registered or not microchipped...
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| Quynh Ngoc Commune, where households currently raise 9 bears. Photo: Google Maps |
According to this household, there were 6 bears that he transported from Quynh Yen commune (where he registered with the competent authority to keep bears in captivity) to Quynh Ngoc commune and 3 new bears that he bought on April 2, 2019, and have not been microchipped.
According to the Forest Protection Department, the province currently has 23 licensed farms and facilities for breeding and raising endangered, precious, and rare wild animals with 1,673 individuals. Of these, there are 12 farms and facilities for raising bears, with 57 individuals, including 55 Asian bears and 2 Asian bears.
According to the law, keeping unregistered or unchipped bears in captivity is a violation of the law.
Tighten management
According to Mr. Nguyen Tat Ha - Deputy Head of Quynh Luu Forest Protection Department: The local Forest Protection Department's inspections mostly only counted the number of individuals as registered, because although the bears were fitted with electronic chips, the unit did not have a chip reader, and during the process of cleaning the cages, there was a disturbance, so it was very difficult to determine which bear belonged to which chip, whether the household moved, or whether new animals were raised or not.
According to Mr. Ha, the chip was installed by the Forestry Department, and the inspection was previously done by the Department, but now each Sub-Department is only equipped with one. If a District wants to use it, it must request to borrow it.
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| Two moon bears were rescued and raised at the Wildlife Rescue Center of Pu Mat National Park. Photo courtesy |
Mr. Nguyen Viet Khanh - in charge of Yen Thanh District Forest Protection Department said that the households' cages are located in residential areas, families often go to work, so inspection is difficult. Not to mention, the cages are narrow, so the bears have to withstand the climate in the cage, avoid diseases, the care and feeding process is quite difficult.
But in reality, despite propaganda and mobilization, no household has voluntarily handed over their bears to the Vietnam Wildlife Conservation Center. Only when the bear dies do households report to the authorities to inspect, determine the cause, and handle the matter according to Decision No. 95/2008/QD-BNN dated August 29, 2008 of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development on promulgating regulations on management of farmed bears.
According to some forest rangers and local officials, most households say they "raise bears as pets", "treat bears as family members", and no longer extract their bile like before, but in reality it is very difficult to monitor this issue.
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| Staff at Pu Mat National Park's Wildlife Rescue Center clean bear cages. Photo: Tran Xuan Cuong |
To overcome the above shortcomings, Mr. Le Dai Thang - Deputy Head of the Department of Forest Protection and Nature Conservation (Provincial Forest Protection Department) said: In order to strengthen the management and inspection of the captivity of wild animals (mainly bears), the Forest Protection Department directs the Forest Protection Departments to regularly coordinate with local branches and organizations to widely propagate and disseminate laws on the management and protection of wild animals.
Strengthen inspection and management activities in the area, strictly handle organizations and individuals who advertise, breed, trade, and use products and specimens of wild animals, including bears, in violation of the law.
Regarding the recent illegal bear captivity in Quynh Luu district, according to the direction of the Provincial People's Committee, the authorities will coordinate with local authorities to propagate and mobilize this bear-raising household to voluntarily hand over the bears to the Vietnam Wildlife Conservation Center for continued care and raising according to the provisions of law... On that basis, we will resolutely prevent and prosecute criminal responsibility for the subject who carries out the act of captivity of bears without legal documents of origin.
Localities need to propagate and mobilize bear farmers to voluntarily hand over their bears to the Vietnam Wildlife Conservation Center for continued care and raising in accordance with the law.
On that basis, it is necessary to continue to propagate and mobilize people to comply with legal regulations on bear captivity, disseminate legal regulations prohibiting bear captivity trading; regularly check and update the number of bears in captivity in the area to detect and strictly handle illegal bear captivity.
At the same time, resolutely prevent and prosecute criminally those who carry out the act of keeping bears without legal documents of origin, ensure that the number of bears kept in captivity does not increase, and move towards completely ending illegal bear keeping.
However, to achieve this goal, in addition to the role of functional agencies and local authorities, there needs to be cooperation from the people themselves in detecting and denouncing illegal acts of buying, selling, and keeping wild animals, as well as resolutely saying no to the use of products and specimens of wild animals, including bears.
According to Decision No. 02/2005/QD-BNN dated January 5, 2005 of the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development regulating the management of captive bears. All organizations, households and individuals raising bears must be responsible for registering, marking with electronic devices (chips) and establishing management records at the provincial Forest Protection Department or at the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development for provinces without Forest Protection Department.
Violations related to bears, depending on the severity and evidence, can be criminally prosecuted with a maximum fine of VND2 billion or 15 years in prison (Article 244, Penal Code 2015 - amended and supplemented in 2017, effective from January 1, 2018).