Catching and consuming swiftlets should be considered an act of economic sabotage.

Yesterday (November 20), Khanh Hoa Provincial People's Committee issued a document directing the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, the Provincial Police and localities to inspect the illegal hunting of swiftlets.

Previously, on June 30, 2023, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh also signed and issued Official Dispatch No. 595/CD-TTg on strengthening the implementation of solutions to prevent illegal hunting, manage bird's nest farming and promote the export of bird's nest products with many specific requirements.

According to a report by Khanh Hoa Salanganes Nest Company, in Khanh Hoa, illegal hunting of swiftlets has been going on for a long time and is becoming more widespread throughout the province.

Illegal hunting of swiftlets does not only occur in Khanh Hoa but is a common problem in localities that have raised swiftlets nationwide for many years.

Swiftlets are hunted, not only for release but also sold to drinking establishments at the "dirt cheap" price of 5-7 thousand VND/bird. Meanwhile, each pair of swiftlets can produce 2-3 nests in 1 year. A nest is worth more than 1.5 million VND.

Hunting wild birds is an act of environmental destruction and should be condemned and dealt with severely. However, hunting swiftlets, in addition to destroying the environment, is also an act of sabotaging the local economy. There should be stricter sanctions to deal with both hunters and buyers and sellers.

According to statistics from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, since 2000, in addition to natural exploitation, bird's nest farming has developed strongly into an economic "spearhead", contributing greatly to the budgets of localities such as Khanh Hoa, Hoi An...

And nationwide, there are currently over 22,000 bird nest farms, with an annual output of about 120 tons, worth over 500 million USD. Bird nest exports each year reach 200 - 300 million USD.

However, these numbers are currently seriously "threatened" by illegal hunting of swiftlets, leading to a decline in the number of swiftlets because the loss of the mother will lead to the mass death of baby swiftlets in nests in caves or birdhouses.

In fact, localities have not yet had effective solutions to prevent illegal hunting of wild birds in general and swiftlets in particular.

Although the Government and localities continuously issue telegrams and directives, requesting strict handling. And the hunting, buying, selling, and consuming... although illegal, still take place in broad daylight.

Even in some localities like Hoi An, bird nest farmers have painstakingly tracked down people who specialize in setting nets to hunt wild birds, bird nest traders, and bird nest processors... to take photos, film, and send evidence to the authorities and forest rangers for intervention.

So, after all, the most difficult thing in preventing illegal hunting of swiftlets in particular and wild birds in general today is still the lack of determination of the civil servants at all levels!

Source link