Wild animals handed over to Phong Nha – Ke Bang national park

A wild monkey and a pygmy loris were recently handed over to the Wildlife Rescue and Protection Centre at the Phong Nha – Ke Bang National Park in the central province of Quang Binh (Illustrative photo: VNA)

Quang Binh (VNA) – A wild monkey and a pygmy loris were recently handed over to the Wildlife Rescue and Protection Centre at the Phong Nha – Ke Bang National Park in the central province of Quang Binh.

The monkey (scientifically known as Macaca leonine) weighing 5.2kg and the pygmy loris (scientifically known as Nycticebus pygmaeus) weighing 0.2kg were voluntarily relinquished by local people. They are listed as endangered animals which need urgent protection.

A representative of the Wildlife Rescue and Protection Centre said it will look after the animals and release them into their natural habitat when appropriate.

Wildlife protection has become stricter under policies outlined in amendments to the Penal Code that took effect on January 1.

Protected wildlife under criminal law has been extended from rare, precious and endangered animals to all types of wildlife, Lieutenant General, Associate Professor Tran Van Do, former Deputy Chief Justice of the Supreme People’s Court and Chief Justice of the Central Military Court said on January 30 at a seminar on Vietnam and law enforcement efforts to protect wildlife organised by CHANGE and WildAid (CHANGE, Centre of Hands On Action and Networking for Growth and Environment).

Under the amended Penal Code 2015, hunting, catching, killing, rearing, caging, transporting and trading wild animals is criminalised.  This extends to possession of dead animals, body parts and products of rare, precious and endangered wild animals.

The maximum jail term for crimes related to wildlife management has increased to 15 years.

Violations in protecting rare, precious and endangered wildlife are considered “very serious offence” instead of “serious offence” as stated in the previous code, he said.

Vietnam joined the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) in 1994 and the country has legalised the treaty in a full manner.-VNA