Communities around the world are struggling with illegal animal and animal product trafficking.
In southern Vietnam's Vinh Long province, officials captured more than seven metric tons (over 15,000 pounds) of illegal animal products, ranging from pangolin scales to miscellaneous animal bones and bird beaks, according to Tuổi Trẻ News.
What happened?
The smugglers were apprehended in Vietnam on Oct. 3. The two smugglers, one from Vietnam and one from Indonesia, were unable to provide any documentation for the amalgamation of animal parts on board their two boats.
The hoard included "more than 4.2 tonnes of suspected pangolin scales, 150 python skins, 40 kilograms of animal bile, over one tonne of dried snail meat, nearly 1.6 tonnes of fish skin, 17.5 kilograms of conch horns, 36 kilograms of animal bones, 100 kilograms of unidentified animal hides, 2.3 kilograms of fish gills, 39 bird beaks, 210 animal teeth, and 30 bottles labeled as honey," the news outlet reported.
Many of these items belong to protected species. Pangolins in particular have been called the most trafficked wild mammals in the world.
"If you manage to get 12,000 pangolins killed and skinned, if you get 39 beheaded hornbills, if you get 1.6 tons of fish skin … that means you are a big player," Vincent Nijman, a researcher at Oxford Brookes University, told Mongabay. "It's industrial size, commercial, illegal trafficking. Organized crime, guaranteed."
Why is animal conservation important?
According to the IUCN Red List of Endangered Species, over 48,600 species are threatened with extinction, or 28% of all species included in its assessment.
Smuggling activities can drastically decrease an animal's chance of survival, and these smuggling rings are active in multiple countries.
Species loss has wide-ranging ripple effects on ecosystems that impact people as well as wildlife. Preserving a region's rich biodiversity ensures that the ecosystem remains in the balance that it has spent millennia adapting. For instance, removing wolves from Scotland had a cascade of effects, known as a trophic cascade, including an overpopulation of deer that prevented trees from reaching their full maturity.
What's being done about illegal animal product trade?
A September 2025 report from the Environmental Investigation Agency noted Vietnam's progress in cracking down on animal trafficking, but acknowledged that the country is still a major player in the world of animal contraband.
TCD Picks » Upway Spotlight
💡Upway makes it easy to find discounts of up to 60% on premium e-bike brands
|
Do you think fracking should be illegal in America? Click your choice to see results and speak your mind. |
Yes — everywhere 👏 According to the EIA, animal trafficking in Vietnam has serious consequences: up to 15 years in prison and fines of up to 2 billion VND (or about $86,500 USD) for individuals.
With the massive haul of parts, many believe that the smuggling operation in the news is far from over.
"We hope that they will continue with the process of properly prosecuting them, investigating it and trying to figure out who is behind it," Nijman told Mongabay.
Join our free newsletter for good news and useful tips, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.
Cool Picks
