(Vietnam) Mekong region unites to stop sale of wild animals

[Guest guest]

Le Hung Vong

Bears seized en route from Kon Tum Province. — VNA/VNS Photo Sy Huynh

 

Mekong region unites to stop sale of wild animals

 

Le Hung Vong

 

The six countries of the Mekong Basin region are banding together to

fight the poaching and selling of wild animals within and across

their borders.

 

Underground routes and a variety of methods that deceive forest

rangers and enforcement authorities are used in illegal sales in Viet

Nam, Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, Myanmar and southern China.

 

Poachers and their agents hide animals in trunks of cars and under

goods in large trucks or vans, and make false declarations on export

permits and certifications.

 

Large networks and syndicates are often employed, involving several

groups of people, from hunters to collectors in rural areas, up to

middlemen and high-level traders in urban centres, said Angie Woo, co-

ordinator of the World Wildlife Fund's Wildlife Trade Advocacy

Initiative, who spoke this week in Bangkok during a conference of

journalists from the Mekong Basin area.

 

Some species of wildlife from Mekong countries are consumed within

the region as food and as ingredients in traditional medicines.

 

However, large volumes are transported to markets elsewhere where

they fetch a very high price, including areas in East Asia, Europe

and America.

 

" Illegal and unsustainable trade are depleting the rivers, mountains

and plains of the Mekong Basin of invaluable natural resources, " Woo

said.

 

To save wildlife, endangered animals in particular, the six

governments of the Mekong Basin have agreed that a regional solution

will be the only effective solution.

 

 

 

full story:

 

http://vietnamnews.vnagency.com.vn/2004-06/30/Stories/20.htm

 

 

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" Look deep into the eyes of any animal, and then for a moment, trade

places, their life becomes as precious as yours and you become as

vulnerable as them. Now smile if you believe all animals deserve our

respect and our protection, for in a way, they are us, and we are

them. " -

Philip Ochoa Board Member, ALL FOR ANIMALS

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