Vietnamese news on vnexpress.net reports that Vietnamese Customs in Ho Chi Minh City exposed an ivory rhino horn trafficking case on February 12. While checking a suspicious parcel which was mistakenly transferred to Ho Chi Minh City from France, rather than Hanoi, they discovered three white tusk-shaped objects.
After working with the Institute of Tropical Biology of the Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology, the specimens were identified as African elephant ivories. All the items were confiscated for further investigation.
Ivory trade is still a serious problem which is threatening wild elephant populations. As Vietnam is considered one of the main ivory markets, Vietnamese authorities and related organizations are working hard to cope with tactics of criminals and conduct many activities to prevent ivory trade. At the beginning of 2014, ENV sent a statement to the media urging the Vietnamese authorities to follow international examples, such as those set by the U.S. and the Philippines, to destroy ivory stockpiles in order to demonstrate Vietnam’s commitment to protect both our remaining elephant populations and elephants from around the world from illegal hunting and trade.
Photo courtesy of vnexpress.net.
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