The General Department of Customs has issued a written request to provincial and municipal Customs Departments to direct subordinate customs branches to take measures to manage wildlife.

Rhino horns seized by Customs forces at Noi Bai International Airport, April 2019.
Photo: T. Binh

The customs units must temporarily stop carrying out import procedures for living or dead wild animals, eggs, larvae, parts and derivatives of wild animals (except aquatic species for production and processing of food and animal feed, which have been announced in accordance with the law;parts of wild animals processed as pharmaceutical materials or as raw materials for production or finished products) until there is a new direction from the Prime Minister or in special cases permitted by the PM.

Goods owners of goods are requested to return goods to the exporting place for import goods as wild animals which have been granted export permits to Vietnam by the foreign Cites management agency. If goods owners refuse to comply with the request or can’t be identified, they will be treated according to Vietnamese law on illegal wild animals.

This guidance of the General Department of Customs is to implement the Prime Minister's direction in Directive 29 / CT-TTg dated July 23, 2020 on urgent solutions for wildlife management.

To ensure strict compliance with the law on wildlife management, the Prime Minister instructs: To stop imports of alive or dead wildlife, eggs, larvae, parts and derivatives of species of wild animals (except for aquatic species for production and processing for food and animal feeds, which have been announced according to law provisions; parts of wild animals processed as pharmaceutical materials, or as raw materials for production or finished products) until there is a new direction from the Prime Minister or in special cases permitted by the PM.

All cases of importing wild animals contrary to this directive must be strictly punished according to provisions of law on illegal wild animals; for wild animals which have been granted export permit to by foreign CITES management agencies, border-gate customs offices require goods owners to return goods to the export place. If goods owners fail to comply or cannot be identified, they will be treated according to Vietnam's law provisions on illegal wildlife.