Illustrative image (Photo: VNA) Hai Phong (VNS/VNA) - Local people have longbeen reportedly involved in illegal wild bird hunting and poaching in Cat BaIsland of the northern city of Hai Phong and local authorities have failed tocurb the problem for decades.
Now is the peak time for migratory birds to flock to the islandwhich is home to both a national park and a Biosphere Reserve recognised byUNESCO in 2004. The island boasts great biodiversity with plenty of uniqueflora and fauna, including up to 160 species of birds.
However, it is difficult for visitors to see or hear the birdsin nature. Meanwhile, Cat Ba wild birds’ tasty reputation has made wildlifebusinesses prosperous.
“If you want to buy a large number of wild birds, see Mr. Vien.Those who usually hunt wild birds across island district of Cat Hai or around CatBa National Park sell the birds to Vien,” a woman who owns a stall in Xuan Dam communemarket told reporters from vietnamplus.vn.
The reporters found Vien’s house in Xuan Dam commune wherethey were shown bags of newly-hunted birds that he had bought from hunters.
Pointing to two big fridges at his house, Vien said that therewere nearly 400 processed birds inside which would be delivered to hiscustomers soon.
“We have both alive and frozen birds which will be transportedto consumers by motorbikes, coaches and frozen trucks,” he said.
“Many birds here are banned for hunting and trade. Police andforest guards will catch you if you take the living birds off the island,” Viensaid.
He usually sells quoc (white-breasted waterhen) for60,000 VND, snipe for 70,000 VND, le le (lesser whistlingduck) for 80,000 VND and wild pigeon for 190,000 VND.
“I sell wild birds to local people and restaurants in Hai Phong cityand other areas including Ninh Binh, Vinh or Da Nang,” Vien said.
Hunting nets everywhere
Xuan Ma commune located in the buffer area of Cat BaNational Park is popular among local bird hunters. They use loudspeakersand play bird sound to lure birds to areas with nets to trap them.
Normally, a hunting net is about 100-200m wide and3-4m high. With bamboo sticks, nets are stretched vertically acrossfields, along forest and coasts in the nighttime.
Hearing the loud bird sound, migratory birds rush to the netsand are trapped there.
A local man named Thuan said that he was using more than 30 netsto catch wild birds.
An “invisible” net with the length of 100m cost 1.2 million VNDand can be used for two years, Thuấn said, adding that he could earn on average1 million VND per working night and hundreds of millions of VND during thewhole bird migration season which usually lasts about three months startingfrom September.
Thuan also said that to work as a wild bird hunter, it wasa must to have “good relationship” with forest rangers who wouldinform him prior to any inspection so that he could remove the nets.
Thuan said that due to the profits that bird hunting cangenerate, many local people were engaged in the business.
“In my village, nearly 40 households earn their livingfrom bird hunting,” Thuan said, adding that in the past, every householdin the village did such work and they all knew which birds were banned forhunting but they still hunted the birds.
Nguyen Quang Thanh, head of Cat Hai- Bach Long Vi ForestProtection Division, said wild bird hunting and poaching had been reportedsince the 2000s but few violators were detected and punished.
Often, as soon as the illegal hunting/poaching was reported,authorities carried out inspections but found no violators but just a fewexhibits.
It was assumed that information about authorities’ inspectionswas leaked, Thanh said, adding that it was difficult to tackle the illegal birdhunting and trade as the birds were not sold in public.
Hoang Thi Thanh Nhan, Vice Director of the Natural Conservationand Biodiversity Department under the Ministry of Natural Resources andEnvironment, said that migratory birds were an important part of the ecosystem,supporting the growth of plants and controlling harmful pests.
“The illegal hunting of migratory birds at Cat Ba will directlyaffect biodiversity, ecosystem balance and sustainable development of the CatBa Biosphere Reserve,” she said.
Vietnam has a legal framework to protect wildlife, Ha said,adding that law enforcement in Cat Ba was poor as the illegal bird hunting hadhappened for years.
Nguyen Duc Tu from the International Union for Conservation ofNature said using nets and bird sound to lure and catch migratory birds hadlong been reported, posing threats to biodiversity and disease transmissionfrom animals to human.
Bui Thi Ha, Vice Director of Education for Nature Vietnam, saidthat to curb and prevent illegal hunting, a combination of measures were neededincluding better communication, increased public understanding and improvedlegal framework and better law enforcement.
“Asking people not to hunt wild birds and remove trapping netsare not enough. Strict punishment for violators is needed. People must be shownwhich legal penalties they would face if they are involved in illegal wild birdhunting and trading,” Ha said./.
Now is the peak time for migratory birds to flock to the islandwhich is home to both a national park and a Biosphere Reserve recognised byUNESCO in 2004. The island boasts great biodiversity with plenty of uniqueflora and fauna, including up to 160 species of birds.
However, it is difficult for visitors to see or hear the birdsin nature. Meanwhile, Cat Ba wild birds’ tasty reputation has made wildlifebusinesses prosperous.
“If you want to buy a large number of wild birds, see Mr. Vien.Those who usually hunt wild birds across island district of Cat Hai or around CatBa National Park sell the birds to Vien,” a woman who owns a stall in Xuan Dam communemarket told reporters from vietnamplus.vn.
The reporters found Vien’s house in Xuan Dam commune wherethey were shown bags of newly-hunted birds that he had bought from hunters.
Pointing to two big fridges at his house, Vien said that therewere nearly 400 processed birds inside which would be delivered to hiscustomers soon.
“We have both alive and frozen birds which will be transportedto consumers by motorbikes, coaches and frozen trucks,” he said.
“Many birds here are banned for hunting and trade. Police andforest guards will catch you if you take the living birds off the island,” Viensaid.
He usually sells quoc (white-breasted waterhen) for60,000 VND, snipe for 70,000 VND, le le (lesser whistlingduck) for 80,000 VND and wild pigeon for 190,000 VND.
“I sell wild birds to local people and restaurants in Hai Phong cityand other areas including Ninh Binh, Vinh or Da Nang,” Vien said.
Hunting nets everywhere
Xuan Ma commune located in the buffer area of Cat BaNational Park is popular among local bird hunters. They use loudspeakersand play bird sound to lure birds to areas with nets to trap them.
Normally, a hunting net is about 100-200m wide and3-4m high. With bamboo sticks, nets are stretched vertically acrossfields, along forest and coasts in the nighttime.
Hearing the loud bird sound, migratory birds rush to the netsand are trapped there.
A local man named Thuan said that he was using more than 30 netsto catch wild birds.
An “invisible” net with the length of 100m cost 1.2 million VNDand can be used for two years, Thuấn said, adding that he could earn on average1 million VND per working night and hundreds of millions of VND during thewhole bird migration season which usually lasts about three months startingfrom September.
Thuan also said that to work as a wild bird hunter, it wasa must to have “good relationship” with forest rangers who wouldinform him prior to any inspection so that he could remove the nets.
Thuan said that due to the profits that bird hunting cangenerate, many local people were engaged in the business.
“In my village, nearly 40 households earn their livingfrom bird hunting,” Thuan said, adding that in the past, every householdin the village did such work and they all knew which birds were banned forhunting but they still hunted the birds.
Nguyen Quang Thanh, head of Cat Hai- Bach Long Vi ForestProtection Division, said wild bird hunting and poaching had been reportedsince the 2000s but few violators were detected and punished.
Often, as soon as the illegal hunting/poaching was reported,authorities carried out inspections but found no violators but just a fewexhibits.
It was assumed that information about authorities’ inspectionswas leaked, Thanh said, adding that it was difficult to tackle the illegal birdhunting and trade as the birds were not sold in public.
Hoang Thi Thanh Nhan, Vice Director of the Natural Conservationand Biodiversity Department under the Ministry of Natural Resources andEnvironment, said that migratory birds were an important part of the ecosystem,supporting the growth of plants and controlling harmful pests.
“The illegal hunting of migratory birds at Cat Ba will directlyaffect biodiversity, ecosystem balance and sustainable development of the CatBa Biosphere Reserve,” she said.
Vietnam has a legal framework to protect wildlife, Ha said,adding that law enforcement in Cat Ba was poor as the illegal bird hunting hadhappened for years.
Nguyen Duc Tu from the International Union for Conservation ofNature said using nets and bird sound to lure and catch migratory birds hadlong been reported, posing threats to biodiversity and disease transmissionfrom animals to human.
Bui Thi Ha, Vice Director of Education for Nature Vietnam, saidthat to curb and prevent illegal hunting, a combination of measures were neededincluding better communication, increased public understanding and improvedlegal framework and better law enforcement.
“Asking people not to hunt wild birds and remove trapping netsare not enough. Strict punishment for violators is needed. People must be shownwhich legal penalties they would face if they are involved in illegal wild birdhunting and trading,” Ha said./.
VNA
