WWF Urges Vietnam to Crack down on Illegal Rhino Horn Trade

The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) International has said that Vietnam must take severe measures against illegal trade of rhino horns in the context that rhino poaching shows no signs of abating, South African newswire Citizen.co.za has reported. WWF said in a statement ahead of a critically important wildlife trade conference next week in South Africa that Vietnam has failed to shut down illegal markets, disrupt the trafficking networks and prosecute the traffickers. The issues will be in the spotlight at the 17th Conference of the Parties (CoP17) to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) scheduled on Sept 24-Oct 5 in Johannesburg. This will be the largest-ever CITES meeting with participation of 181 countries and a record number of items up for negotiation, including wildlife trade issues relating to elephants, sharks, pangolins, and tigers. Given to South Africa, the country has lost nearly 6 000 rhinos to poachers since 2007, including more than 700 so far this year. Vietnam must agree to enact new regulations to treat wildlife crime as a “serious crime” with a minimum sentence of four years in prison, legislate to treat fake rhino horn as real rhino horn for enforcement and prosecution purposes, and successfully target and prosecute illegal traders and traffickers. Otherwise, CITES must call on countries to prohibit trade with Vietnam in all CITES-regulated wildlife, according to the newswire, adding that China, another major consumer of rhino horn, needs to focus on reducing demand. (Citizen.co.za Sept 15)