Comments were made at the seminar “Increasing Social Responsibility for Sustainable Development and Reducing Risks from Illegal Wildlife Trafficking in Cyberspace” on November 30.

PURCHASE FOR SALE ON FACEBOOK, ZALO

Ms. Bui Thuy Nga, Program Officer, TRAFFIC Vietnam informed and surveyed all online platforms (social networking sites, e-commerce platforms) of TRAFFIC from July 2021 to June 2022 and shows that there are more than 8,000 ads for public sale of wildlife products.

Most of them are endangered and rare protected wild animals. Facebook and zalo are the two advertising platforms that sell most wildlife products and offer them for public sale.

Elephants and ivory products are the best-selling and most desirable products. Just type in the word “ivory” and less than a second Google search engine returned more than 1.5 million results.

The statistical report also shows that in the first 6 months of 2022, the number of items for sale of ivory products increased sharply compared to the last 6 months of 2021 – more than 500 items for sale. 90% of ivory products were made into art and jewelry.

Products often sell heavily before Tet or festivals due to the increased demand for these products.

An online survey by Vietnam E-Commerce Association (VECOM) was conducted from January 1 to March 31, 2020 by entering a search for keywords: “tusks” “elephant” (elephant), “rhino”. , “pangolin”, ” Pangolin”https://vneconomy.vn/”trot”, “pangolin scales”) saw 205 ads/posts selling wildlife, 167 ads on Facebook, 12 on Instagram, …

Wildlife products for sale are also becoming more diverse on social platforms. It proves that sellers are constantly developing new products to attract and satisfy the ever-changing tastes of consumers.

In addition, after Covid-19, when consumers increasingly searched for health-promoting products, many new products derived from wild animals such as rhino horn and ivory were launched online… Even the product has a quality certificate.

“We are coordinating with the Medicines Administration Department of the Ministry of Health to verify the accuracy of certificates published by online sellers,” Ms Nga said.

In order to avoid the scrutiny of authorities as well as e-commerce platforms, the seller intentionally misspelled, even misspelled or used slang like: sell chocolate 30 or to the power of 30 then it is to the power of tiger bones; or black bamboo shoots, lean meat is rhino horn; or they do not use the word wildlife but instead use the words rescue, conservation, to refer to I have a wildlife inventory.

“Therefore, it is very difficult for the authorities to detect, just as the e-commerce platform cannot place such sales search keywords,” Ms Nga admitted. If there is movement, they delete the post immediately. On the other hand, subjects used many phone numbers, emails, virtual nicks, etc. to disrupt the information.

And if, on the basis of the evidence, only to sanction in social networks, they defend and treat the idea that the sale is only for viewing, as phrases are for fun, but in reality are not commodities.

E-COMMERCE COMPANIES MUST ACTIVE PREVENTION

E-commerce is an inevitable trend, but it poses a major challenge for state administrations and for policy makers when it comes to managing ongoing social network activities, especially social activities, commercial fraud, smuggling, illicit goods such as wild animals, etc .

Experts say the trend of wildlife trafficking on social networking sites will continue to grow as small fines will not be enough to deter organized traders.

The solution proposed by Mr. Nguyen Anh Duong, Central Institute for Economic Management (CIEM), is therefore to publish the information of buyers and sellers on social networks and even prosecute them or impose fines – especially in the coming period , Interdisciplinary cooperation is necessary to solve this problem.

With their mission, the representative of TRAFFIC Vietnam said that the organization would like to support state administrations and the e-commerce business community to provide more information, knowledge and back-up skills and tools for businesses to better respond to risks posed by illegal wildlife trade to be able to .

According to Ms Nga, the best way to prevent all kinds of crimes is to actively prevent them. If each company shows their views, strong will and determination to fight against this illegal act, acting together will help break the chain of illegal wildlife trade in Vietnam.

Michelle Owen, director of the Contractor Office of the Endangered Wildlife Project, WWF, said Vietnamese tech companies with international and regional connections can play an important role in fighting the illegal wildlife trade by blocking ads and prohibiting related trades on their platforms.

Mr. Doan Quoc Tam, Head of Cooperation Department, VECOM, said that Electronic Transactions Law No. 51/2005/QH11, Decree 52/2013/ND-CP on E-Commerce (Decree 85/2021/ND-CP) provides regulations on goods that are excluded from online commerce, including endangered wildlife and plants protected by law; Those violating the above law will be punished according to current regulations on illegal wildlife trade in shops and stores.

However, according to Mr. Tam, corporate engagement in the e-commerce community against this illegal behavior is extremely important. Handshake, commitment and action must be taken to protect wildlife.