(June 4, 2018) - Today Nha Trang court sentenced Hoang Tuan Hai to 4 years and 6 months in prison for his involvement in trafficking approximately 10 metric tonnes of marine turtles, a seizure widely believed to be the world's largest confiscation of marine turtles to date. Today's trial was the culmination of nearly four years of intensive efforts by ENV to bring Hai to justice.

Can Tho provincial authorities, in collaboration with Free the Bears, transferred an Asiatic black bear that was voluntarily given up by its owner, to the Cat Tien Bear Rescue Center. This bear was the last captive bear held in Can Tho, marking Can Tho as the 22nd bear farm free province in Vietnam.

Education for Nature – Vietnam (ENV) has released our “Guidance on the Application of Wildlife Protection Law” to provide functional authorities with comprehensive updates on wildlife protection law, the legal provisions applicable to each specific type of violation, and appropriate guidance on the handling of wild animals after the confiscation.

Ha Noi (April 17, 2018) – Education for Nature - Vietnam has released its latest Public Service Announcement (PSA) urging the public to give up the outdated practice of using bear bile as a form of traditional medicine.

Nguyen Mau Chien, who is suspected of leading a criminal network operating from Africa that smuggles rhino horn, ivory, and other endangered wildlife into Vietnam, was sentenced to 13 months in prison on March 20, 2018 by a Ha Dong court. Three accomplices involved in the April 2017 crime trafficking case, two of Chien’s nephews and his wife, walked free after the trial.

International conservatives and representatives from wildlife protection organizations joined the local authorities and policymakers at a forum in Hanoi, on February 2, to share their experiences in bear protection and bear bile farm management.