On June 30, ENV and the local Forest Protection Department in Dak Nong, central Vietnam, have succeeded in persuading the head monk at a pagoda to voluntarily transfer a gibbon, which was being kept in captivity at the place of worship.
The gibbon was reported to ENV by a local resident who often listens to ENV’s monthly radio show and had therefore learnt about the need for wildlife protection and ENV’s hotline, but as issues relating to religious spaces and people can be very sensitive in Vietnam, the negotiation process had to be handled extremely delicately. Finally, today we are overjoyed to have a positive outcome, firstly for the gibbon but also for the local residents, who will no longer see keeping this wild animal away from his natural habitat as an acceptable practice.
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