Ha Tinh (VNS/VNA) – The Huong KheDistrict People's Court in the central province of Ha Tinh has recently sentencedsix local people to a total of 66 months in prison for violating “regulationson protection of endangered, precious and rare animals”.

The convicts included Thai Kim Hong, 52 (who wassentenced to 15 months in prison); Phan Van Hoi, 36 and Thai Dinh Quy, 58, (12months in prison each); Thai Van Sang, 42 and Thai Vinh Quang, 60; Phan Trong Son,46 (nine months suspended sentence each). All were residing in Hoa Hai commune ofHuong Khe district.

According to the indictment, at 10am on November17, 2018, when Son was walking through the province’s Vu Quang National Park,he discovered a trapped langur. He brought the langur back home to sell it to Hongat a cost of 1.1 million VND (50 USD).

Then, Hong, Son and the four other men (Hoi, Quy,Sang and Quang) killed the langur and began to eat it.

During the process of killing the rare mammal, Hoifilmed the clip and streamed it on Facebook. The clip was condemned bythousands of viewers.

After that, Hoi deleted the video, however the HuongKhe District police discovered the case and investigated the killers.

Police prosecuted six people for "violatingthe regulations on management and protection of endangered, precious and rareanimals according to Article 244 of the Criminal Code 2015."

Many Vietnamese people continue to kill wildanimals for food. Hunting, caging, trading, transporting or killing protectedwild animals are prohibited under Vietnamese law.

According to the Ministry of Agriculture andRural Development, the diversity of animals in Vietnam was very rich, with175 mammal species, 826 bird species, 180 reptile species, 80 amphibianspecies, 471 freshwater fish species, over 2,000 marine fish species, 7,000insect species in addition to tens of thousands of invertebrates.

The Vietnamese Government has issued legaldocuments on rare animal conservation and protection such as elephant, tiger,bear, reptile and small animal protection programmes.-VNS/VNA