Thai Kim Hong, 51, got 15 months, and Phan Van Hoi, 33, and Thai Dinh Quy, 58, got 12 months each while Phan Trong Son, 45, Thai Vinh Quang, 59, and Thai Van Sang, 41, received suspended sentences of nine months each from the Huong Khe District People’s Court.

They were charged with "violating regulations on the protection of precious and rare wild animals."

Last December Son sold a monkey to Hong who then invited him, Quy, Sang and Hoi to butcher and eat it and livestreamed it on his Facebook account.

Authorities later determined the monkey was a red-shanked douc, an endangered species in the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List. Its hunting and trade is prohibited under Vietnamese law.

The animal, native to Cambodia and Vietnam, is threatened by hunting and habitat loss due to human activities such as construction and agriculture.