A cross-country run is scheduled for December 11 in Hanoi to call for action against the extinction of wild animals and to raise public awareness on the issue.
The Red River Run has been held for the fourth consecutive year to call for action against the extinction of wild animals.
Held jointly by the Red River Runners (RRR) Club and the non-governmental Education for Nature-Vietnam (ENV), the tenth Red River Run aims to respond to the fight against violations of wildlife across Vietnam.
This is the fourth consecutive year the run has been organised to raise funds to address illegal hunting and the illegal wildlife trade.
Last year’s event, themed “Run for Rhinos,” aimed to raise awareness about the illegal trade in rhino horns in Vietnam and saw the participation of over 500 runners from various age groups. This year, the run will be held at the Ciputra urban area in Hanoi’s Bac Tu Liem District.
All Vietnamese citizens and international friends are welcomed to register for the run prior to December 8 at the site of the RRR www.redriverrunners.com or to register directly at Clickspace at No. 15, Lane 76, To Ngoc Van Street, Tay Ho District or at the Hanoi Bicycle Collective at 31 Nhat Chieu Street, Tay Ho District.
In addition to the participation of individuals, the event will bring together representatives from foreign embassies in Hanoi, NGOs and celebrities.
Participants can choose to run in teams to affirm their support for the protection of pangolins, bears, tigers or rhinos with different distances of 5km, 10km and a half-marathon distance of 21km, as well as in a children’s category.
Commenting on the annual event, ENV Deputy Director Nguyen Phuong Dung said that time was running out for pangolins, tigers, bears and rhinos. If there was no demand for wildlife products then there would be no market for the poachers who were taking these animals to the brink of extinction.
She expressed her hope that the run would be warmly responded to by locals and show that Vietnam cares about the fate of these endangered species.