Vietnam
With such a diverse geography and its coasts and tall mountains, it is no surprise that Vietnam is a place with a big diversity of wildlife. Animals such as elephants, leopards, tigers, pythons and monkeys live here, as well as very rare species of deer, oxen and frogs. There are numerous national parks and nature reserves, and among the most famous ones we mention the Cat Ba National Park, Cuc Phuong National Park (one of the best places for birdwatching in Vietnam), the Phong Nha – Ke Bang National Park, Cham Island (a UNESCO biosphere reserve) and the Cat Tien National Park.
Click here to observe wildlife in a responsible way.
Tours in bile bear farms
A cruel tourist attraction that has been popular for a long time in Vietnam is visiting bear farms situated in the Quang Ninh area. Here visitors are offered products made from bear parts and which are illegal. After visiting the farm, tourists are shown how bile is extracted from live bears and as well as offered wine produced with bile taken from these animals. The Vietnamese government has recognized the extreme cruelness of this activity and ordered to end the practice, threatening offenders with heavy penalties. More information here.
Tiger farms?
Vietnam has – at least officially – 11 tiger farms. It is believed that tigers captured in the wild are "mixed" with animals bred in captivity and when a tiger dies its parts are sold in the black market. In 2009 the government of Vietnam said that the goal of the tiger farms was to raise animals to reintroduce them into the wild later. Despite these declarations, until today no tiger has been returned to its natural habitat.
It is very important for tourists not to visit these places and to inform themselves about how to distinguish between a real rescue center and one that raises its animals for profit.
Cafés with wild animals
Recently in Hanoi a “Pet Café” has been opened – a place where clients can interact with rats, snakes, lizards, tarantulas and hedgehogs among other animals. It is obviously complicated to offer optimal living conditions for each one of these species in one place, and the potential risks to people are evident as well.
It is recommended that tourists who do not want to encourage the captivity of wild animals or their trafficking would not visit businesses of this type. More information here.
Horse carriage rides
In the area of the Mekong delta, tourists are offered the opportunity to take a ride between the two stretches of the delta's canals in carriages pulled by small horses. The animals used in this activity are often extremely thin, malnourished and with different skin problems, that means, not in condition to work and withstand the weight of several people, especially having the high temperatures in mind. The same journey can be done on a boat, so tourists who visit the area can ask to move this way instead of the horse carriages.More information here.
Elephants
In Vietnam, just like in many Asian countries, the situation with elephant is extremely disturbing, since there are almost no specimens left in the wild, and captive animals are trained with cruel methods, maintained in inadequate spaces and used for different kinds of shows and rides in zoos and tourist camps. According to an article by National Geographic, in 2013 the country only had less than 70 elephants left in the wild and 81 in captivity.
For more information about the tourist activities with elephants read here and here.
Stray animals
There are large numbers of stray animals in Thailand, which often live in very bad conditions. The stray cat and dog populations are controlled by unregulated mass slaughter which usually involves very cruel slaughter methods. If you find these animals, you can help them by giving them some food or water, but avoiding close contact with them in order to avoid contagious illnesses. Before traveling you can find the contacts of local animal protection NGOs to inform them in case you find very ill animals or victims of animal abuse, or in case you want to make a donation. More information here.
Ostrich rides
Some parks and false sanctuaries of the country (e.g. Prenn Waterfall in Dalat) offer tourists the possibility to ride or race on the backs of ostriches, in attempt to exploit the animals beyond their meat and feathers.
But far from being a harmless activity for ostriches, these races cause injuries and even deaths of many animals, which suffer a lot of stress and often serious falls, and even collapse on the ground due to overexertion. More information here.
Dolphinaria
In this country you can also find many centers which have captive cetaceans (dolphins, orcas or beluga whales). Research has shown that these intelligent animals suffer enormously in the limited dolphinarium conditions and the stress levels and mortalities between them are very high.
The training of these animals for circus shows where they perform totally unnatural behaviours, which can physically harm them, is achieved by keeping the animals in a permanent state of hunger so that they act in exchange for a piece of dead fish.
Condemned by their facial structure which resembles a human smile, these highly social animals, which would swim long distances and dive into deep depths in the wild, are used to perform stunts in small cement tanks. Many of the specimens are captured from the wild.
More information in SOS Delfines.
Kopi Luwak/Civet coffee
The kopi luwak, or civet coffee, is a type of coffee made from coffee beans which were ingested by an animal called civet, passed through its intestinal tract and eliminated with its feces, still covered by the inner layers of the fruit so the internal coffee bean is not digested. Born in captivity or simply hunted in the wild, civets live in cages for the rest of their lives to produce this expensive coffee which is made in different places in Indonesia, Philippines and Vietnam.
Rescue centers and recommended projects:?
If you want to report a crime against wildlife you can contact: Environmental Police Department +84-1800-1522 / Department of Forest Protection +84-9866-68333
In particular, in case of seeing products made from parts of wild animals in restaurants, markets, hotels or anywhere else in Vietnam, you can contact ENV (Education for Nature Vietnam)
Here is a list of local NGOs that can be contacted in case you want to make a donation, a complaint or if you find an animal that needs help in Vietnam:?
BirdLife International in Indochina
Endangered Primate Rescue Center
