WCS will verify origin of rhinos at Nghe An farm

VnnNews – The Wildlife Conservation Society’s Vietnam office is assisting in investigation of  the origin of the two African white rhinos found at a private farm in the central province of Nghe An.

Nghe An: Rhinos bred in cage

VietNamNet recently published investigative stories about a private farm in Nghe An where there are many exotic animals, including two rhinos, tigers, bears, zebras and antelopes.

Dr. Scott Roberton, Director of the Vietnam office of the Wildlife Conservation Society, an American NGO, said that this is one of several farms in Vietnam that are breeding a large number of African-sourced wild animals. He said that if the farm owner can’t show that he obtained these wild animals legally, this would be a serious case.

According to Roberton, even though the Nghe An Forest Protection Bureau confirmed that they were informed before the farm bought the animals and even though the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora Organisation (CITES) allows the import of these animals from Africa, it doesn’t mean that it is legal to breed them at the farm.

He said that wildlife purchase documents and licences can be regularized. More important is verifying the origin of the two rhinos to know if they were traded legally. He admitted that this is a difficult task because the rhinos came from Africa.

Though Roberton’s an expert on wild animals, he cannot confirm the two rhinos in the farm in Nghe An are African white rhinos unless DNA testing is done. He said the farm owner must prove three things: the source of the rhinos was legal, regulations on purchasing, transporting and breeding these animals were observed; and that the beasts are being properly cared for.

Roberton said that WCS Vietnam will send pictures and data on the rhinos at the Nghe An farm to WCS branches in Africa to verify the origin of rhinos. The results will be sent to Vietnam as soon as possible.

Regarding the two tigers at this farm, Roberton believes that the farm owner broke the law, because it is illegal to trade, transport or keep tigers in any form. Even if the farm owner shows documents proving the ‘legality’ of these tigers, he has still broken the law.

Vietnam has developed a complete legal framework to protect wild animals, said Roberton, but it does not yet strictly control wild animal breeding farms.

Kien Trung

Tags: Farm Owner, The Farm, The Farm Owner, Wild Animals, Physics games

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