Authorities in the Central Highlands province of Đắk Nông have fined two women more than VNĐ1 billion (US$43,584) for their involvement in the illegal wildlife trade.
Đắk Nông authorities released the bengal monitor lizards back to nature. — VNA/VNS Photo
Nguyễn Thị Huệ, 49, was fined VNĐ725 million for buying six Bengal monitors (a species of lizard found in Southeast Asia and Africa) and keeping them in captivity.
Meanwhile, Phạm Thị Trường, 34, was fined VNĐ285 million for purchasing two Bengal monitors, one dead and one alive.
Both of them, residing in Knông Nô District’s Đắk Nông Commune, were deemed to have deliberately violated a Government decree on administrative offences in the forestry sector.
According to a separate decree on the management of endangered and rare flora and fauna as well as the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), the Bengal monitor belongs to Group 1B of wild animals threatened with extinction, meaning exploitation and use for commercial purposes is strictly prohibited.