Swiftlet hunting in Quang Nam

Hunters set up invisible nets, use loudspeakers to play sounds to attract swiftlets, then use nets to catch them, causing their numbers to decrease.

Recently, in many rice fields in Thang Binh district, Quang Nam province, hunters have planted bamboo stakes more than 3 meters long to create a line more than 100 meters long, then attached them with a 2 meter high net. This type of net is called invisible because the fibers are small, hung one meter above the ground, so the swiftlets cannot see it and rush in and get caught in the trap.

Swiftlets are a group of endangered wild animals, hunting is prohibited, they usually live in flocks in caves on islands, not perching on tree branches or on the ground. Early in the morning they leave the island to fly to the mainland, catching insects as they fly, and return to the island to roost in the evening. Bird's nests have economic value because they contain many nutrients such as protein, glucose, vitamins, minerals and lipids.

Invisible net spread over the fields of Binh Dao commune, Thang Binh district. Photo: Dac Thanh — Invisible net spread over the fields of Binh Dao commune, Thang Binh district. Photo: *Dac Thanh*

Swiftlets often come to rice fields where there are many insects such as grasshoppers, ants, bees, termites, dragonflies... to hunt for food. Because they cannot detect the hunter's net, the birds often get caught and have no way to escape.

In addition to using invisible nets, many hunters use nets 2 meters wide and 5 meters long, with both ends tied to a pole and secured with two ropes on the ground to flip back and forth. On the ground, hunters use two swiftlets as bait, turn on a speaker to emit simulated sounds to attract the swiftlets. When the birds fly over, the hunter flips the net to catch them.

A hunter said that he catches swiftlets at 4-5am and 5-6pm every day. At this time, the swiftlets go out to feed a lot, each hunter can catch hundreds of birds, sell them to traders for 5,000 VND/bird to release, or to restaurants and pubs.

A resident carries hundreds of swiftlets to sell in Binh Trieu commune, Thang Binh district. Photo: Dac Thanh — A resident carries hundreds of swiftlets to sell in Binh Trieu commune, Thang Binh district. Photo: *Dac Thanh*

Mr. Huynh Ty, a swiftlet rescue expert on Cu Lao Cham Island, said that this species has short, soft legs and does not perch on tree branches or the ground. When captured and released, the birds are very weak and cannot survive. Swiftlets eat insects in the fields. Catching them will affect the number of flocks, causing more insects in the fields to develop, affecting crops.

The decline in swiftlets has caused great economic losses. According to Mr. Cao Van Nam, Director of the Cu Lao Cham Swiftlet Management and Exploitation Board, Hoi An City, there are 11 swiftlet caves on the island, with nests exploited twice a year in late spring and late autumn, with the selling price of grade one being over VND150 million/kg. Due to the decline in the number of flocks, revenue from exploiting Cu Lao Cham swiftlets in 2021 was about VND47 billion, down 80% so far.

Director Nam calculated that a pair of swiftlets generates 3-5 million VND per year, the birds have a lifespan of over 10 years, while hunters sell them for 5,000 VND per bird. "Seeing them catch them makes me feel sorry, if we don't stop the bird population from continuing to decrease, it will cause great economic damage," he said, hoping that the government will inspect and punish the hunting of swiftlets.

Currently, the fine applied according to Article 27 of Decree 14/2021 is from 10 to 15 million VND for the act of hunting and luring swiftlets for purposes other than raising them for nest exploitation or scientific research.

Noting the situation of hunting swiftlets, Deputy Head of Quang Nam Forest Protection Department Tu Van Khanh said that he will step up propaganda, inspection and punishment. Previously, implementing Directive 04 of the Prime Minister on May 17, 2022, forest rangers handled 17 violations of the protection of wild and migratory birds, imposed fines of 100 million VND, seized more than 410 birds of various types, 43 kg of bird meat products, 500 m of invisible nets...

Dac Thanh

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