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Forest rangers trap poachers in Dac Lac

DAC LAC — Seven poachers, including a border guard, face the wrath of the law after being caught red-handed in the Tay Nguyen (Central Highlands) province of Dac Lac with the carcasses of a critically endangered ox species and hunting equipment.

Forest rangers stopped two trucks leaving Ea So National Reserve Park in Dac Lac on January 28 and found inside two dead gayals, four guns and other hunting equipment. Accompanying the carcasses were Lieutenant Pham Viet Dung, 43, from neighbouring Binh Phuoc Province’s Border Guard Unit No 805, and six others, reportedly from HCM City and provinces nearby.

Gayals (Bos Gaurus) are bovine mammals of Indian origin which find a place in Viet Nam’s Red Book of Endangered Species and, according to the Forestry Department, their numbers have plunged from tens of thousands to around 1,000 now.

The men admitted to hunting the rare animals the previous night while the trucks and hunting equipment were owned by an industry official in HCM City. They have been prosecuted for violating wildlife protection regulations.

"These actions are in serious violation of laws which protect rare, wild animals," said Nguyen Ba Thu, Chief of the Forest Ranger Department under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

The department has also reported the incident to the Minister for Agriculture and Rural Development Le Huy Ngo. The Chairman of the Vietnamese Animal Association, Prof. Dang Huy Huynh, blames poachers for the sharp decrease in the gayal population. He added that the current small population of the species made it difficult for them to come in contact with one another and reproduce. — VNS